US to tell partners they must pick sides in AI race with China

The United States is set to inform numerous countries that they must select a side in the artificial intelligence (AI) competition against China, according to a US official and an internal draft obtained by Reuters. The US launched the Pax Silica initiative in the previous year to safeguard supply chains for AI models, semiconductors, and critical minerals, amid a fierce rivalry with Beijing.

Approximately twenty-four countries, encompassing Kazakhstan - a crucial source of essential minerals that has also joined China's coalition - as well as close US allies including Japan, Australia, and South Korea, have joined the Pax Silica framework. The draft letter, prepared by the State Department, is directed at the 35 signatories of the US AI Opportunity Statement, which was signed in June and includes members of the non-binding Pax Silica framework and other nations desiring to align AI cooperation with Washington.

By pressuring countries to choose sides, the US aims to deprive China of resources, aiming to foster the most advanced AI technology, potentially for military or economic dominance. In July, Chinese President Xi Jinping introduced a rival World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, asserting China's open-weight technology as a challenge to US domination in the rapidly evolving sector.

Kazakhstan is the sole country known to have joined both initiatives, alarming Washington. The letter urges countries to "choose deliberately" on AI, emphasizing that participation cannot coexist with membership in conflicting initiatives. The state department declined to comment on the leaked internal documents, while China's embassy in Washington rejected the implication of politicizing trade and technology issues, stating that such actions would stifle global AI progress.