OpenAI would support the creation of a global governance body for artificial intelligence led by the U.S. and including China as a member, a top company executive said, hours before the start of U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
When asked about the China summit, OpenAI¡¯s vice president of global affairs, Chris Lehane, said Wednesday that the U.S. has an opportunity to use its lead in AI technology to create a global governance mechanism resulting in safer, more resilient systems.
¡°AI, in some level, transcends a lot of the prevailing or traditional trade type of issues,¡± Lehane told reporters during a briefing at the company¡¯s offices in Washington. ¡°There is an opportunity to really start to build something up globally, and have countries around the world, including China, potentially participate.¡±
Such an organization could resemble the International Atomic Energy Agency, which includes China and sets global safety standards for nuclear energy development to prevent weapons proliferation, Lehane said. One way to establish it would be by connecting the U.S. Commerce Department¡¯s Center for AI Standards and Innovation with AI safety institutes that are being created around the world, he said.
While Lehane said that OpenAI has floated in Washington the idea of linking AI safety institutes, it¡¯s unclear whether the Trump administration would welcome global guidelines that include China. White House officials have previously indicated they would reject the idea of worldwide governance over AI technology.
The White House didn¡¯t immediately respond to a request for comment.
OpenAI has also called for the U.S. to require government researchers to evaluate cutting-edge models so their safety can be tested in a classified setting, he added. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been preparing an executive order on AI cybersecurity that emphasizes voluntary rather than compulsory pre-deployment model review.
Still, Anthropic¡¯s announcement about the potential global cyber risk posed by its Mythos artificial intelligence model has shaken up White House AI policymaking. Before the U.S. delegation departed, officials said they would explore the possibility of opening a new channel of communication with China to regularly discuss AI issues.
Trump is in Beijing this week for the first state visit to China by a U.S. leader in nine years. His entourage includes senior administration officials as well as more than a dozen U.S. business leaders such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who was a last-minute addition to the trip.
Trade topics such as the flow of rare earths and China¡¯s purchases of U.S. agricultural products, along with the ongoing war in Iran, will be top of mind. Artificial intelligence, though, is still set to be a key part of the conversation. Earlier this week, U.S. officials...
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.