Amid growing competition in the development of artificial intelligence (AI), experts attending the Beijing 2024 Forum emphasized the need for greater cooperation between China and the United States in the field of AI.
China and the United States are among the leading developers in AI, with top-notch AI labs and large language models that surpass other global counterparts, said Graham Webster, a research fellow at Stanford University, participating in a panel session at the forum.
Webster said a complete disconnect between the two sides would be a bad outcome. “That would be a great loss of efficiency and innovation,” he said.
According to him, both sides should maintain intergovernmental dialog on AI risks and security, as well as cooperate with a diverse global community, including scientists and representatives of different cultural views.
In addition, he noted that leading countries, such as China and the United States, should share the benefits, such as medical breakthroughs, of AI technologies.
Carman Lucero, a research fellow at the Paul Cai China Center at Yale University, emphasized the growing interest among scholars around the world in China’s progress in AI development.
He emphasized the valuable lessons to be learned from the Chinese experience, as the AI ecosystem in China is dynamic and diverse.
According to Lucero, the best scenario for promoting mutual understanding and avoiding problems between the two sides depends on dialogue – not only governmental discussions, but also track-two dialogues and people-to-people exchanges.
In recent years, the United States has been making efforts to suppress China by implementing a series of measures aimed at limiting cooperation with China in the field of artificial intelligence.
In May of this year, China and the United States held the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Dialogue on AI in Geneva to exchange views on AI technological risks, global governance, and other issues of concern.
Later in June, the second China-U.S. Track 1.5 Dialogue was held in Beijing, during which participants from both countries reached a consensus to further deepen cooperation in the field of AI.
Lei Shaohua, associate professor at the School of International Studies, Peking University, called for efforts to prevent technology from causing economic fragmentation.
He said that the “bottom-up” mode of exchange and cooperation between Chinese and American universities, think tanks, government research institutions, and AI companies would become “ballast.”
A panel session held at Peking University titled “Digitalization and Intellectuals: The Convergence of Many Disciplines in the Age of AI” is part of this year’s Beijing Forum. More than 500 experts and scholars from over 30 countries and regions are taking part in the three-day academic forum, which ends on Sunday.
