U.S., China explain positions during AI discussion in Geneva
May 15 (UPI) -- U.S. officials had a "candid and constructive" conversation with Chinese representatives on Tuesday about the concerns and uses of artificial intelligence in one of the first high-level meetings between the technological powers.
National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said U.S. and Chinese officials exchanged their perspectives on approaches to AI and their respective approaches to AI's safety and risk management.
"The United States reiterated the importance of harnessing the benefits of AI for sustainable development, for developing and developed countries alike," Watson said in the statement.
"The United States underscored the importance of ensuring AI ensuring AI system are safe, secure, and trustworthy in order to realize these benefits of AI and continuing to global consensus on that basis."
Watson said U.S. officials brought up worries about how AI has already been misused, including by China.
"The United States affirmed the need to maintain open lines of communication on AI risk and safety as an important part of responsibly managing competition."
Seth Center, deputy envoy for critical and emerging technology for the State Department and Tara Chhabra, the National Security Council's senior director for technology and national security led the discussion for the Biden administration.
China's Foreign Ministry representatives and members of its National Development and Reform Commission team relayed Chinese's concerns.
The meeting is an outgrowth of a meeting last November 2023 between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
