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US-China tech war
TechTech War

In FocusPacing problem: can AI fears overcome US-China race dynamics and force a slowdown?

Despite US AI leaders’ warnings over the risks of rapid development, they remain locked in a high-stakes race against each other – and China

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Chong Ming LeeandVincent Chow
When the presidents of the United States and China meet in Washington, the world will be watching to see whether their two countries can make good on their agreement to work towards “constructive strategic stability”. In the sixth part of a series, Chong Ming Lee and Vincent Chow examine what’s behind the call for “pacing” by American AI giants – effectively a slowdown in development – and how the phenomenon is being viewed in China.

After years of rapid development, leading US AI executives are proposing what would have been unthinkable even a year earlier: that it may be time to slow down.

In recent weeks, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI chief Sam Altman and SpaceXAI founder Elon Musk have all called for “pacing” the development of frontier artificial intelligence over purported fears that its capabilities were advancing faster than the safeguards designed to control them.

On Wednesday, Amodei pushed further for a slowdown when he addressed the UN Security Council by video link, warning that mismanaged AI posed an existential threat to humanity and urging nations to unite on global safety standards.

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