Trump rules out joint US-China venture to develop AI

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Washington will not team up with China on developing artificial intelligence, warning that doing so would hand over valuable secrets to its chief economic competitor. He spoke in Washington at the launch of America.gov, an AI-powered website meant to make government services easier to use. Trump said the country holds a big lead in the field and has no interest in getting entangled with rivals, adding that "there is nobody in third place" and that the contest is strictly between the two powers. He said the subject came up in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week, but that he wants to preserve the lead over China and everyone else, according to BBC.

That meeting produced an agreement between Beijing and Washington to start an AI dialogue, with more talks set for November, along with a new communications channel meant to head off misunderstandings when AI-related incidents occur. Before the meeting, China's foreign ministry cautioned that "narratives of threat" and confrontation get in the way of AI governance.

Trump also again opposed limits on the technology that could slow its future growth, even as public worry rises at home. Politico published a poll in late September finding that two in three Americans see at least a "moderate" risk that AI could destroy humanity, and 44% of Trump supporters surveyed said they would favor pausing development. Trump has repeatedly dismissed safety concerns as a "hoax."

Summarized by PolitiKool from BBC’s reporting. Read the full story at BBC →