Künstliche Intelligenz: China warnt vor militärischem Missbrauch von KI

China has called upon the world's nations to intensify their control over Artificial Intelligence (AI) during a speech at the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing on Wednesday. The security and military conference provided an opportune context for this topic, as Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump at an upcoming summit in Washington on Thursday.

While AI has become a key focus of geopolitical rivalry between the two countries, Zhao Long, Director of the Institute for International Strategic and Security Studies in Shanghai, told the Handelsblatt that there is room for limited and clearly defined collaboration, particularly in areas such as AI security and technical standards.

In his speech, Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun emphasized that concerns over potential misuse by armed forces should prompt governments worldwide to "coordinate on issues of regulation and actively engage in safety dialogues in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, space, and deep-sea." He further urged nations to "strengthen risk assessment and experience sharing" in these fields.

Although Dong is the Chinese Defense Minister, the actual operational military power center in China is the Central Military Commission, which is personally led by Xi Jinping. Currently, the US and China are competing to determine who will hold the technological leadership role in AI. However, it also involves which rules will govern its use.

In contrast to the US, Beijing advocates for an open-source or open-weight approach, aiming to provide countries with relatively favorable models at a reasonable cost. The US government under Trump is currently pushing for a rapid expansion of technology, despite increased critical voices calling for caution. These include prominent figures from the US tech industry who call for a slowdown in development, stricter governmental regulation, and global control bodies.

It was previously reported on Sunday that Chinese State Security Minister Chen Yixin had warned about the misuse of AI, marking a shift in the Chinese public's awareness: AI could potentially threaten China's national security. While the exact AI models currently in use by China's military remain unclear due to the People's Liberation Army's strong secrecy, the technological advancement is unquestionably being driven in military contexts.

Xi Jinping aims to build a "World-Class Army" by 2049. However, the lines between civilian and military research in the technology sector are more permeable in China than in many Western countries. Private tech companies may also find themselves bound to national objectives within this policy. The Xiangshan Forum is viewed as China's counterpart to the Munich Security Conference, although it is less international in scope and has a smaller number of Western participants. The US typically sends a lower-ranking delegation to the event.