"AI Slowdown Risks Entrenching Leading Tech Cartel, Handing Leadership to China"

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has pointed out that calls from the CEOs of four leading U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) companies for a slowdown in AI development must not result in cementing the dominance of front-runners or weakening U.S. leadership in the hegemony competition with China.

In an editorial titled "The Great AI Slowdown?" published on the 13th (local time), the WSJ noted, "The CEOs' call for a slowdown comes at a politically and economically critical moment," adding, "We must examine the background behind these proposals. Their ultimate motives remain unclear."

Citing an instance where OpenAI models carried out unauthorized attacks on Hugging Face, an open-source AI model sharing platform, the editorial acknowledged, "Tech founders genuinely fear the emergence of autonomous AI agents acting outside human control, and the argument that humans must maintain control over machines is valid."

At the same time, the editorial pointed out, "While there are also arguments like Senator Bernie Sanders' calling to halt the AI industry until the political sphere can exert direct control, these CEOs are calculating that by proposing a voluntary slowdown, they can avoid the blade of mandatory government regulation."

It argued that if OpenAI or Anthropic genuinely believed AI technology was dangerous, they could responsibly and autonomously slow down their development themselves, noting that "trouble arises when CEOs attempt to enlist outside forces for their own ends."

Highlighting the risk of "regulatory capture," where government regulations end up solidifying the monopolies of front-runners, the editorial warned, "Slowing down cutting-edge technology must not be allowed to degenerate into a cartel tool for leading companies to secure their market share."

A more critical issue is "China, the only practical competitor to the U.S.," the editorial warned, adding, "Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to view a U.S. slowdown not as an opportunity for humanity, but as a starting point to overtake the United States."

Ultimately, relinquishing leadership in cutting-edge AI technology could leave the country vulnerable to rogue nations attempting to use AI to pose fatal threats such as biochemical weapons, the publication emphasized.

The editorial concluded, "While we must not overlook the risks of AI with exceptional self-learning capabilities, handing U.S. AI leadership over to other countries also carries immense risks," stressing that "efforts to reduce the risks of AI development must not result in amplifying the risk of handing AI leadership to China."

(File Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.