Xi Urges Human Control of AI in White House Talks

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the United States and China to keep artificial intelligence under human control and use it for public benefit during a White House meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday, September 24. The leaders discussed AI amid competition between the two countries, but their public remarks did not announce a new bilateral agreement or a specific regulatory framework. Xi said both countries had the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good and ensure that it serves people. He also called for continued dialogue, exchanges on the technology’s risks and benefits, and joint efforts to prevent misuse and abuse, according to China’s account of the meeting. His public remarks presented cooperation as possible despite the two governments’ competition in AI. Trump had signaled a different approach before the meeting. In a social media post on Thursday, he said he wanted to leave superintelligence “exactly where it is” and described the Justice Department as the guardrail. He had also said in remarks to the United Nations General Assembly that the United States would encourage superintelligence.