While the US has entered these talks stating that its policies would not be up for negotiation these talks are being seen as significant, as they are intended to explore mitigating risks from the emerging technology.
The US, under President Biden, has sought to re-engage with China across a range of issues – among them the development of AI – and it is the first meeting of its kind. The US has said that it expects the discussion to cover the full range of risks that are associated with AI development.
These talks come at a time when China has rapidly deployed AI capabilities across civilian, military and national security sectors, which has raised concerns both in the USA and among its allies.
While these talks are not intended to address any form of technical collaboration or cooperation - neither country sees much of anything eye-to-eye - when it comes to AI it has to be hoped that while they are competing against one another there will be areas in which they can better co-operate.
At least by being in the same room they will be able to discuss critical AI risks and both countries have expressed a desire to develop more ‘controllable’ AI technology.
