Key facts
- Over 1,100 AI employees signed a petition urging the US government to pace the industry.
- The performance gap between leading US and Chinese AI models has narrowed to 39 points from over 1,300.
- China has launched the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, with 29 founding members including Russia and Brazil, but excluding major Western democracies.
- Chinese AI models must undergo government safety and content reviews before release.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed diplomats to counter arguments for 'AI sovereignty' and promote American AI products.
While a significant number of AI professionals in the West have called for a slowdown in the industry's pace, China has shown no inclination to follow suit. This divergence in approach comes as China has rapidly closed the performance gap with leading AI models from the US and other Western countries. A recent Stanford AI Index report indicated that the performance difference between top US and Chinese models has shrunk dramatically, with China also surpassing the US in AI research, patents, and robotics.
Instead of joining a Western-led effort to regulate AI development, China has been actively building its own framework. In July, Beijing launched the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) in Shanghai. This new intergovernmental body includes countries like Russia and Brazil among its 29 founding members but notably excludes the US, UK, and EU, signaling a move towards establishing parallel global AI governance standards.
Despite this parallel track, China has not entirely disengaged from Western safety initiatives. Chinese officials have signed the Bletchley Declaration, an international agreement on AI safety, and participated in dialogues with Washington and co-sponsored a UN resolution on the topic. However, this cooperation appears to be supplementary to China's drive for independent standards and alliances.
China's public stance emphasizes openness, with its AI industry consistently favoring open-source and open-weight models. This approach, where model designs and code are made publicly available, is contrasted with closed models like ChatGPT. Proponents, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, argue that open models enhance safety by allowing external researchers to identify and fix vulnerabilities, preventing a single point of failure.
President Xi Jinping, at the World AI Conference in Shanghai, officially unveiled WAICO, positioning it as a response to the "Global South's" call for greater influence in setting global AI rules. He also urged countries to embrace open-source AI. The organization's Shanghai headquarters and staffing by Chinese government officials underscore its strategic importance for Beijing.
Domestically, China maintains its own system of control, requiring AI models to pass government safety and content reviews before release. However, some observers note that many Chinese labs prioritize raw capability over extensive safety training due to computing power limitations.
Meanwhile, the US appears focused on maintaining its lead in the AI race. A recent report indicated that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed diplomats to counter arguments for a US technology 'kill switch' and 'AI sovereignty,' instead promoting American AI products.