The Conversation: Trump and Xi face an AI security dilemma

Summary

Marcus Holmes, professor of government, co-authored an article on how Trump and Xi might overcome their rivalry through face-to-face diplomacy to reduce mistrust and lower the risk of a dangerous AI arms race.

Full Description

"Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s Washington summit has been billed as a discussion of major issues surrounding the development and possible regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), as well as trying to find common ground over Taiwan and trade. What everyone wants to know is whether – and how – the leaders of the two biggest world powers can get over their rivalry through face-to-face diplomacy to achieve a positive outcome in what is surely the most urgent question facing global leadership.

The importance Beijing attaches to such encounters was underlined on September 17 when, in a call with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi declared that “head-of-state diplomacy is the anchor of China-US relations”.

For this diplomacy to bear fruit, Trump and Xi have to develop what is known as “security dilemma sensibility”. This is the ability to recognise that an adversary may be acting out of fear and not predatory intent and to appreciate how one’s own state’s actions have contributed to that fear. If Trump and Xi can do this, it could create an opening for policies of reciprocal reassurance."

Read full article at theconversation.com.