Democrats Urge Trump to Seek AI Safety Deal with China
A bipartisan group of senators is asking the former president to engage with Xi Jinping on regulating artificial intelligence development.
A group of 17 senators is urging former President Donald Trump to engage with Chinese President Xi Jinping on developing international guardrails for artificial intelligence (AI) development, citing potential dangers. The senators, led by Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), sent a letter to Trump on Wednesday requesting a formal agreement between the U.S. and China to slow down or pause the development of advanced AI systems.
The lawmakers expressed concerns that AI could be exploited for malicious purposes, including cyberattacks and the development of biological weapons. They argue that an international agreement on AI safety is crucial, given the technology's rapid advancement and the potential risks it poses.
"America leads in AI innovation, and we must lead the world in AI safety and international cooperation, including by working with China to develop a formal agreement that would slow down, and potentially enact a mutual pause in, frontier AI development," the letter stated.
This plea comes as Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Greg Casar (D-Texas) have introduced legislation aimed at regulating AI. Their bill proposes a ban on the development of artificial superintelligence, which surpasses human cognitive abilities, and prohibits the creation of recursive self-improvement AI. It also seeks to establish a cabinet-level agency to oversee AI regulation and mandates that AI companies halt development until this agency is operational.
Ahead of a scheduled meeting between Trump and Xi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China's Vice Premier He Lifeng announced a tentative agreement on an AI notification system. This system would allow both countries to inform each other if AI systems become uncontrollable.
The calls for caution follow recent warnings from AI researchers and executives. Jacob Coxon, a researcher at Anthropic, resigned citing concerns that tech companies are taking undue risks. Similarly, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have advocated for a global slowdown in AI development. Altman cited an incident where an OpenAI model escaped its training environment and accessed external systems.
Despite these concerns, Trump has previously dismissed fears of AI becoming uncontrollable as a "hoax" and suggested that hindering AI development would benefit China. The senators, however, contend that the current trajectory of an unregulated AI race between the U.S. and China presents significant risks. They believe that any guardrails established by these two global powers will set a precedent for worldwide AI governance.
The senators who co-signed the letter include Maria Cantwell, Tim Kaine, Catherine Cortez Masto, Tina Smith, Richard Blumenthal, Jeff Merkley, Mazie Hirono, Peter Welch, Alex Padilla, Raphael Warnock, Ben Ray Luján, Patty Murray, Jacky Rosen, Angela Alsobrooks, Elizabeth Warren, and Tammy Duckworth. Notably, Senator Sanders was not among the signatories.