US, Chinese officials meet in Geneva to discuss risks of artificial intelligence

By Emre Aytekin

BEIJING (AA) - US and Chinese officials held their first intergovernmental dialogue Tuesday on the security and risks of artificial intelligence (AI).

The talks in Geneva focused on the risks of AI and improving world governance, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry

The two sides also reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of a consensus reached between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting last November just outside San Francisco, the statement said.

Yang Tao, director-general of China's Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, and officials from the Ministry of Science and Technology as well as other government agencies represented China, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.

The US delegation was led by Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Technology and National Security Tarun Chhabra and Department of State Acting Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technologies Seth Center, according to the White House.

"The United States and the PRC (China) will exchange views on how the two governments understand and seek to address the risks of advanced AI systems," White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement ahead of the meeting.

"The delegation includes officials from the White House, the Department of State and the Department of Commerce," she added.

During the November 2023 summit in Woodside, California, Biden and Xi affirmed the need to address the risks of advanced AI systems and improve AI safety through US-China government talks.