On Monday’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) responded to concerns that slowing down on AI will cause the U.S. to lose the race to China by saying that “The U.S. and China are in this race. But it’s the kind of race where, the second you step over the finish line, you fall down a steep, deadly cliff. No one can win the AI arms race.” He also argued that “because Chinese models currently train on American AI models, passing strong U.S. rules now, along with export controls, slow[s] down dangerous AI development around the world.”
Co-host Leila Fadel asked, [relevant exchange begins around 1:45] “Now, President Trump is dismissing the dangers of AI and warning that, if there is a slowdown, then the U.S. loses the AI race to China. Is he wrong? Will being cautious lose the U.S. [its] competitive edge?”
Casar responded, “Donald Trump is wrong here. We must pursue international agreements, including with China, to prevent extremely dangerous AI from being developed anywhere in the world. We can do that. We’ve done that during the Cold War, when we signed nuclear nonproliferation agreements with the Soviet Union. The U.S. and China are in this race. But it’s the kind of race where, the second you step over the finish line, you fall down a steep, deadly cliff. No one can win the AI arms race. Our goal has to be to end the AI arms race to protect people here and around the world.”
He added that “because Chinese models currently train on American AI models, passing strong U.S. rules now, along with export controls, slow[s] down dangerous AI development around the world. And so, we should make our country lead, of course, in technology, but also be the leader in the world on AI diplomacy.”
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