The New China’s AI Balancing Act — Beating the United States And Keeping The Tech From Risking Beijing’s Rule

Avijit SahDecember 3, 2024

0 10 1 minute read

China may surpass the United States in its quest to create artificial intelligence that is more intelligent than humans, but this innovative technology also runs the risk of weakening the hold that the ruling Communist Party has over the second-largest economy in the world.

Max Tegmark, AI scientist, told CNBC

“That artificial general intelligence (AGI) is closer than we realize and that the story of the U.S. and China engaged in a geopolitical race to develop the most advanced AI is a “suicide race.”

Although there isn’t a single definition for artificial general intelligence (AGI), it’s generally understood to be AI that can outsmart people.

The popularity of apps like ChatGPT, which let users ask chatbot questions, has skyrocketed. However, other AI startups are vying to create the next generation of AI, which will be intelligent on par with humans.

According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, AGI might be possible by 2025. Many others believe that real AGI is still a long way off, even though other well-known figures in the tech industry share this opinion.

As well as competition between technology companies, there is also the geopolitical battle taking place between the U.S. and China for dominance in realms from AI to chips. While this is often portrayed as a race to be first to the latest technology, Tegmark said this is not the right framing.

The Future of Life Institute, a think organization led by Tegmark, wrote a letter last year urging AI researchers to stop creating sophisticated AI systems. Tesla and other well-known tech companies signed the letter.

Elon Musk, CEO. Tegmark worries that AI is developing quickly, that there aren’t enough safeguards in place, and that if it starts to surpass humans, there won’t be any way to stop it.

Tegmark Stated

“We are much closer to building AGI than figuring out how to control it. And that means that the AGI race is not an arms race, it’s a suicide race,”.