From Washington to Beijing, the debate on the risks of artificial intelligence continues to rage. Donald Trump downplays the alarms raised in recent days by the big names in the sector, ensuring that an "intelligent and strong" president like him is enough to regulate the products. China urges the United States not to play up the dangers while, at the same time, its intelligence chief warns of risks to the Communist Party. All this ten days before Xi Jin Ping's long-awaited visit to the White House during which, it is certain, the topic will take center stage.
"The only control or 'bank' that AI needs is a strong and intelligent president (with a high IQ), and the United States has one, of course", the American president praised himself on Truth, reiterating his refusal to limit the development of the sector in which he himself and his family members have financial interests and investments.
Trump also claimed that his administration "has prevented certain 'people' from taking harmful or potentially harmful actions and we will continue to do so." The Donald cites in particular Dario Amodei, the founder of Anthropic, who on Saturday launched an appeal on his blog to "slow down" the pace of development of the most advanced AI models globally for safety reasons. "Now he pretends to be a 'perfect little angel'," the tycoon attacked, claiming that "there is a sick conspiracy underway against AI and data centers, and the only country to rejoice in it is China. Conspiracy theorists be on guard."
Trump also stressed that the United States is "significantly ahead of any other country" in the industry, calling not to "kill the goose that lays the golden eggs." And his vice president, Jd Vance, accused the AI giants of wanting to insinuate themselves into the regulation of their products. "I find it a little strange that so many pioneering companies are turning to the government to regulate them. It feels a bit like a Trojan horse to me," he said. "I don't think Americans need to fear anything. However, we must be aware that everything carries risks, including AI," he added.
Barack Obama also intervened in the American debate, criticizing the Democrats who, in his opinion, are not giving the right priority to such a central issue: "If I were a candidate for president next year it would be one of the main points of my program", declared the former president.
While two opposite figures, the Democratic senator Bernie Sanders and the former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, have teamed up to promote greater control over artificial intelligence and will participate in a debate on the topic, 'Pro-Human Assembly', together with the ex of Anthropic Jacob Coxon, who sparked the debate. Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is pushing for the creation of a global body for "technological stability" that would help supervise artificial intelligence and guarantee its safety along the lines of the Financial Stability Board.
Meanwhile, from Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun urged us to avoid alarmism that risks "hindering the process of global governance of AI". An appeal that came less than 24 hours after the Chinese intelligence chief himself had warned of the risks that artificial intelligence could pose to Chinese national security. The field of AI has become "the major battleground for global technological competition and a new arena of strategic rivalry between great powers," Chen said, adding that "healthy and orderly" development of the technology is needed. “Hostile forces” are abusing generative AI technologies to fabricate political rumors and spread harmful information,” wrote the Chinese security minister in a long article posted online. For Chen, the conflict between the United States and Iran has also demonstrated the key role of AI in the military, where superior technologies offer tactical advantages on the battlefield.
