The United States indicated this Wednesday that it had discussed with China the problem of its “misuse” of artificial intelligence (AI) but wishes to continue the dialogue which has just opened with Beijing on this subject.
The United States said on Wednesday that it had raised with China the problem of its “misuse” of artificial intelligence (AI) but wishes to continue the dialogue which has just opened with Beijing on this subject. Representatives of the two countries held “frank and constructive” discussions in Geneva (Switzerland) on Tuesday, particularly on the benefits of AI, National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
According to her, “the United States has stressed the importance of ensuring that AI systems are safe, secure and trustworthy in order to be able to benefit (from this technology), and to continue to build a global consensus on these bases. She added that Washington had “raised issues related to the misuse of AI, including by the People’s Republic of China” but also “noted the need to keep the lines of communication open on risks and security of AI with the aim of responsibly managing competition” in this sector.
One last effort
These discussions on AI constitute the latest effort by the two powers to improve relations between them, after years of tensions. Westerners are alarmed by China’s rapid progress in the AI sector, including its mastery of ‘deepfakes’, these images, sound documents or videos digitally manipulated to transform reality – generally for malicious purposes – and of which Observers fear they are being used to manipulate public opinion.
In response to the alarming rise in fake but real-looking content, video platform TikTok said last week that it would automatically flag content generated by AI. TikTok is in the eye of the storm in the United States where a law adopted in April obliges its Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the application within twelve months under penalty of ban on American soil, where it has some 170 million of users. TikTok has filed a complaint against the United States on this subject.