Opinion | 3 low-hanging fruit for US-China cooperation on AI
Given the escalation of technological competition across the Pacific, it is tempting to see AI as an area where excessive caution and hype over security and politico-ideological control render it impossible for the two administrations to see eye to eye.
Yet this view ignores the vast areas in which Beijing and Washington can still work together through government-to-government and people-to-people engagement.
Even while comprehensive agreements on the regulation of dual-use AI remain elusive – given domestic political intransigence, high strategic stakes and the US’ ratcheting up of pressure to contain China’s technological rise – both administrations can pragmatically cultivate a modus vivendi.
China and the US exchanged views “deeply, professionally and constructively” in their first intergovernmental talks on AI risks and governance in Geneva on May 14, according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout. Photo: Weibo
In San Francisco last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden affirmed the importance of coordinating over the challenges AI poses to humanity. The next step should be to address three low-hanging fruit when it comes to cooperation.
The first area concerns the potential detrimental effect of AI-induced automation on societies. The displacement of routine service labour and acceleration of substitution through AI-powered robotics could result in mass unemployment and widen socioeconomic inequality.
Experts argue that addressing AI-induced malaise – ranging from misinformation via deepfakes and algorithmic targeting to disruption of relationships and attitudes of trust and compassion – requires joint efforts from some of the world’s largest tech regulators, in China, the United States and the European Union.
While China’s extensive regulations on AI use in content generation and social media could prove to be unduly stifling for private developers, and granted that the US has a vastly different political economy, Washington may still benefit from taking a leaf out of China’s book on delineating harmful and impermissible corporate uses of user data. Aligning on transnational privacy and data regulation is of critical importance.
Secondly, it would take explicit instructions from the top to establish guard rails on the deployment of lethal AI-powered technologies in military settings. As the late US secretary of state Henry Kissinger noted, the gargantuan costs of an unbridled AI-powered war are far too daunting for responsible statesmen to ignore.
02:11
Autonomous ‘wingman’ drone technology being developed for tomorrow’s ‘Top Gun’ fighter pilots
Autonomous ‘wingman’ drone technology being developed for tomorrow’s ‘Top Gun’ fighter pilots
More substantively, both sides must commit to withholding decision-making powers from AI in the use of large-scale weaponry and in digital warfare against financial and physical infrastructure, as well as agree on heightened transparency and full disclosure of AI militarisation capacities.
Many of these steps had been adopted previously in nuclear non-proliferation and coordination between the Soviet Union and the US during the Cold War. We live in times when the focal bilateral relationship is much less fractious.
Indeed, China’s defence ministry has indicated its openness to jointly regulating military AI, and the recent US-China talks on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore are a reassuring sign of thawing military-to-military relations.
Recently, the reported use of algorithms to identify human targets in the Gaza war has sparked considerable controversy. The use of AI in the Ukraine war has also raised concern.
In defining the ethical boundaries of war, legal and ethical experts should put their heads together to foster mutually binding regulatory standards, taking into full account the complexity of human experience and contextually specific expectations.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin shakes hands with China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun during a ministerial round-table discussion on the sidelines of the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 1. Photo: Bloomberg
Thirdly, the issue of non-alignment between humanity and AI knows no nationality or politics. As leading Chinese AI ethicist Yi Zeng noted in 2019, value alignment with humanity is a universal challenge for AI.
One classic example is philosopher Nick Bostrom’s 2003 thought experiment – suppose an AI agent has been tasked with producing as many paper clips as possible. In seeking to maximise the space, energy and resources for manufacturing, the powerful agent acts to stifle the growth of humanity, which it views as contrary to its production objective.
This may seem fanciful, yet is by no means unrealistic. With sufficiently powerful AI agents, seemingly clear objectives could produce unintended, perverse consequences – an issue both Chinese and American developers must confront as they race to produce the most competitive AI models.
03:08
What if robots took over the world? One ‘imagines’ nightmare scenario
What if robots took over the world? One ‘imagines’ nightmare scenario
Additionally, specific training environments and positive reinforcement will spur certain emergent goals in AI, which – when transplanted to a non-test environment – could produce undesirable outcomes.
Both countries’ leaders share an overarching interest in ensuring their AI agents do not impinge on humanity’s interests, whether through intentional manipulation by unaccountable private actors, or faulty developmental processes by authorised researchers.
Thought leadership and research on this issue need not be zero-sum – both China and the US stand to gain from alignment in ethical tech governance.
Here Hong Kong can serve as a conduit for Track 1.5 and 2 dialogues on AI, which could feature a larger proportion of private-sector players than such dialogues in Beijing – especially from the US and the rest of the West.
All hands must be on deck to avoid the calamities that could result from increasingly intertwined developments in nascent technologies and geopolitics.
Brian Wong is an assistant professor in philosophy at the University of Hong Kong, and a Rhodes Scholar and adviser on strategy for the Oxford Global Society
【Now新聞台】山西歷史古蹟晉祠，被內地人氣電子遊戲取景後爆紅，訪客大增。負責人指，近年因應數字文旅趨勢增設AR等線上沉浸式體驗。八條木雕盤龍各抱一條聖母殿的廊柱，經歷千年日曬雨淋，至今仍然威風凜凜，殿內供奉的「聖母」是西周時期周武王的皇后。位於山西太原市的晉祠建於北魏，是中國現存最早的皇家祭祀園林。除了聖母殿，代表山西傳統戲台的水鏡臺都是晉祠的建築特色之一。內地人氣遊戲《黑神話：悟空》，大部分取景地來自山西，包括晉祠的聖母殿，遊戲去年推出後吸引大批遊客到訪，一睹晉祠的真跡。博物館負責人表示，去年共有310萬人次訪客，比往年上升超過兩成，會利用數字科技增加旅客體驗。晉祠博物館副館長謝強：「神話黑悟空，它的出圈對於整個山西省它的文化旅遊，應該是推動比較大，同時我們對我們的館藏文物，包括可移動文物、不可移動文物，都要進行數字化的高清採集，一方面是運用於文物的保護和後續的活化展示利用。AR它能把現實增強技術，把讓彩塑能活起來、動起來，能和觀眾互動起來。」為了讓不同旅客更認識晉祠，博物館亦研發一套AR系統借給國內其他博物館，讓旅客就算不在山西，亦可以沉浸式享受置身在這古典園林中，未來亦會按需求與香港的博物館合作。山西有5000年文化歷史，想一次過遊歷所有景點都不是這麼容易。不過在這個體驗館可配合VR眼鏡，模擬坐過山車遊覽山西，亦可一睹國內現存最古老、最高的木塔——應縣木塔的構造；還可以親自「下廚」，嘗試製作山西名物——刀削麵。山西文旅數字體驗館是國內首座省級文化旅遊融合的數字化綜合體驗展館。有內地分析數據指，國內數字文旅市場持續增長。山西省文化和旅遊廳指，會促進智慧旅遊平台，激發文旅消費新動力。 #要聞 Source link
Image made on Canva Pro by Ameya Nagarajan for Global Voices “Where Are You REALLY From?” is a new podcast series from Global Voices that emerged from a panel at the December 2024 Global Voices summit in Nepal, where members of the Global Voices community shared their experiences of dealing with other people’s perceptions about
Hong Kong food delivery rider John Lam* cannot afford to make a single mistake while working. The 40-year-old takes extreme care while delivering orders on his motorcycle, knowing that if he has a work-related accident he will receive few employment benefits and minimal compensation. “I understand that being highly responsive to my phone can lead
ComingSoon Senior Editor Brandon Schreur spoke to Black Eyed Peas’ Taboo and his daughter Jett about their roles in “Dora’s Song For Papi,” a new episode in Dora Season 3. The two of them discussed getting to voice the characters Quickatoo and Quickatina, making music for the show, and more. A description of the episode
HONGKONG, June 12: The 39th International Travel Expo opened on Thursday, with about 500 exhibitors from over 60 countries and regions showcasing their latest tour routes and services. The four-day exhibition features over 110 events, including promotional programs, symposiums and lectures. To attract younger enthusiasts and young parents, it dedicated new sections to Gen Z
IC Markets, a leading Forex and CFDs provider, offering trading solutions for active day traders, scalpers and traders new to the forex market, has announced the successful integration of the cTrader Copy widget into its client area. This marks a step forward in delivering a faster, simpler and more engaging trading experience by enabling direct
Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra has seemingly been spotted in the Geekbench online database, and, as usual, this has revealed its chipset. The Korean company’s next flagship tablet will employ MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400+ SoC, which is revealed by the 3.73 GHz Prime core. That said, the results this prototype managed are far from what
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The writer is a faculty member at Yale, formerly chair of Morgan Stanley Asia, and is the author of ‘Accidental Conflict: America, China, and the Clash of False Narratives’ Controversy swirls over the future of
Home » AFRICA » Tanzania Joins Mexico, Saint Lucia, Hong Kong, Italy, UAE, and Bahrain to Open the World Travel Awards 2025 Grand Tour with the Africa and Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony in Dar es Salaam: New Report You Need to Know Friday, June 13, 2025 Tanzania joins Mexico, Saint Lucia, Hong Kong, Italy, UAE,
An electronic screen and ticker at the Exchange Square Complex, which houses the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, on Feb. 26, 2025. With international funds returning to Hong Kong IPOs, Chinese condiment and sauce giant Haitian Flavouring & Food Co. launched its HK$10 billion ($1.27 billion) H-share offering Wednesday — marking another major “A-share first, H-share
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is coming, but this year Samsung is making sure you know it. The company has been trickling out details about its next tablet foldable. Unfortunately, through the haze of mystery, I can see that Samsung still hasn’t fixed the one big problem I’ve complained about since the first Z Fold.
It is day four of WWDC 2025 week, and the dust is finally beginning to settle. Whether you are an Apple fan who has been keeping up with the avalanche of news, or a developer who has been scrolling through all of Apple’s latest documentation, it has been a whirlwind of a week. If you
Dropped in amongst the news that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II would be joining the upcoming Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2, Jeff Sneider of The InSneider also reported that Quentin Tarantino was receiving a big payday for writing the script. How much is Tarantino being paid for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2? According
EUR/USD Analysis Summary Today Overall Trend: Bullish Today’s EUR/USD Support Levels: 1.1430 – 1.1360 – 1.1290 Today’s EUR/USD Resistance Levels: 1.1520 – 1.1600 – 1.1720 EUR/USD Trading Signals: Buy EUR/USD from the support level of 1.1380 with a target of 1.1420 and a stop-loss at 1.1300. Sell EUR/USD from the resistance level of 1.1570 with
Earlier this year, Google released a Battery Performance Program update for the Pixel 4a which cut the phone’s battery life as a precautionary measure. The reason – Pixel 4a batteries were overheating and posing a fire hazard. Well, another Pixel a-series phone is getting similar treatment soon as the Pixel 6a will also get a
Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size Why is one of the valleys of Laos littered with massive stone jugs? What do the stone circles of Stonehenge mean? How was the Great Pyramid of Giza actually built? When did the shroud of Turin first turn up? And who really was responsible for the assassination
The Moto tag finally supports ultra-wideband tracking This brings the Android Find Hub tracker on par with Apple’s AirTags No word yet on when other Find Hub trackers will support UWB Google’s Find Hub – previously Find My Device – has been a fairly proficient Android alternative to the always useful Apple Find My service,
Today, to end Konami’s Press Start showcase, the company teased a new Silent Hill remake. Details are sparse, but it was revealed that it is currently in development and that Bloober Team, the makers of last year’s acclaimed Silent Hill 2 remake, will develop the long-rumored project. What is known about the Silent Hill remake?
