US open to AI risk talks with China; experts propose nuclear-style safeguards

Bessent is due to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, days before President Donald Trump hosts President Xi Jinping in Washington on Sept. 24. He told Axios that Washington wants to avoid shared risks and a split between the two countries' AI systems, and expects the discussion to include both open-weight and closed models, according to PYMNTS. The stance sits alongside the administration's rejection of industry calls to slow AI development.

The expert proposals come from a dialogue on AI and national security convened since 2019 by the Brookings Institution and Tsinghua University's Center for International Security and Strategy, Reuters reported. Participants including Melanie Sisson of Brookings and Tianjiao Jiang of Fudan University want humans to keep sole authority over AI-enabled cyberattacks on nuclear command systems and critical infrastructure, a bar on autonomous systems deciding nuclear use, a shared definition of meaningful human control, and a dedicated crisis line between the two militaries.

Their concern is that an AI incident could leave either capital only minutes to judge whether it was under attack. The recommendations were published the week before the government talks, and neither government has endorsed them.