AI Safety Slowdown Raises Questions About Global Race With China
Calls for an AI safety slowdown face a key challenge: any US-led pause could cede ground to China in a global AI race, and even a six-month lag may now be equivalent to falling decades behind.
The biggest challenge for an AI safety slowdown is what happens with China. While there are legitimate safety concerns around how quickly AI is evolving, the AI race is global, not just a US domestic issue.
In today's environment, falling even six months behind in AI development is compared to falling decades behind in the pre-AI world. If US AI giants agree to slow progress and focus on safety, an international agreement would need to be in place as well.
Even with an agreement, regulating compliance remains an open question. The view presented is that AI is the biggest technological revolution in history, and this is an AI arms race that may be impossible to fully regulate.
Source: The Kobeissi Letter