Former Obama National Security Advisor Susan Rice said Monday that the United States should work with China to freeze artificial intelligence development, arguing the two governments need to order their companies to halt progress until top scientists can address the technology’s dangers.
Rice made the remarks on CNN’s “OutFront.” She said she has long worried that as AI approaches or surpasses human intelligence on what she called an exponential curve, the world faces “very real and proximate risks” that the technology could be misused in cyberattacks, by terrorists, or in biological weapons.
“There are all kinds of ways in which this is not the ideal setting, but we don’t always get to pick the ideal setting when we’re dealing with existential challenges,” Rice said.
She said the danger extends beyond misuse by bad actors to the possibility of humanity losing control of the technology altogether, calling it an existential risk.
“My suggestion, recognizing that it’s a moonshot diplomatically and scientifically, is that the two leaders order their companies in each country to freeze their development of AI in place until an all-star team of the world’s leading experts, assembled by the United States and China, can get together and solve these critical problems on a technical basis so that we can prevent misuse and prevent loss of control,” Rice said.
Rice acknowledged the plan would be difficult to pull off, both diplomatically and scientifically, but said the United States and China need to confront the threat now rather than wait for an ideal moment. She said in a perfect world, other countries would join the effort as well.
