U.S., China weigh AI crisis controls ahead of summit

May 7 (Asia Today) -- The United States and China are considering measures to prevent intensifying artificial intelligence competition from escalating into an uncontrollable crisis, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The two governments share concerns that powerful AI models could trigger crises neither side can manage.

Officials are discussing whether to formally address the issue as AI competition shows signs of expanding into a strategic arms race between nations, people familiar with the matter said.

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have discussed making AI an official agenda item during a U.S.-China summit scheduled for May 14-15 in Beijing, though the plan has not been finalized.

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Potential areas of discussion include risks from unexpected AI model failures, autonomous military systems and attacks by nonstate actors using open-source tools.

U.S. officials are discussing AI-related negotiations under the leadership of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and are waiting for China to designate a counterpart, people familiar with the matter said.

People familiar with Chinese policy discussions said Vice Finance Minister Liao Min has handled related talks.

It remains unclear whether the discussions will lead to a concrete crisis management mechanism, such as an AI hotline between the two countries.

The United States and China already maintain crisis communication channels, including military hotlines, but Beijing has often been reluctant to use them.

Rush Doshi, a professor at Georgetown University and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Chinese officials did not answer calls during past crises, including the 2001 collision between a U.S. Navy EP-3 surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter jet and the 2023 incident involving a Chinese surveillance balloon over U.S. airspace.

-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260507010001653