China rejects calls for ‘pacing’ on AI development, fearing it would entrench US tech lead

Calls for slowing down artificial intelligence development have faced strong resistance from Chinese researchers and state media, who argue the proposal could bolster America's technological dominance. On Monday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined a chorus of Silicon Valley leaders urging a "pacing" of AI advancements. "The world deserves confidence that American companies developing increasingly capable AI will act responsibly," Altman wrote on X, adding that no one should come to work if they cannot meet this standard.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei echoed these sentiments, calling for global "pacing" of frontier AI labs, though acknowledging this would be difficult. He suggested cooperation with China, despite China's "autocratic" nature and advanced AI capabilities. However, Chinese researchers countered that a global slowdown would disadvantage emerging players who lack resources.

For instance, Alibaba researcher Zhang Xuanming lamented that a blanket slowdown would freeze out startups unable to pause. State-owned tabloid Global Times accused Amodei of proposing a "quiet AI Cold War" to widen America's lead by imposing technological barriers and regulatory monopolies. In response, Beijing is positioning AI as a critical national security domain and accelerating AI development, with companies like Zhipu AI raising substantial funds for next-generation models.