White House Meeting Weighs AI’s Risks to Security, Democratic Values |
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris held a meeting yesterday with the CEOs of four firms developing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and told the executives that more work is needed to establish safeguards on the tech, the White House said. The meeting flagged the importance of securing AI systems against tampering by malicious actors and emphasized the risks that AI poses to national security and democratic values.
The Joe Biden administration’s efforts to establish oversight on AI have so far included (NYT) releasing a blueprint for an “AI Bill of Rights,” preparing guidance to help federal agencies regulate the technology, and pledging $140 million in funding for AI research centers. Ahead of yesterday’s meeting, the White House announced that seven of the largest AI firms will open their platforms to some public scrutiny (FT) at a hacker convention in August.
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“The latest AI—known as generative pre-trained transformers (GPT)—promises to utterly transform the geopolitics of war and deterrence. It will do so in ways that are not necessarily comforting, and which may even turn existential,” Foreign Policy’s Michael Hirsh writes.
“As generative AI tools sweep the world, it is hard to imagine that propagandists will not make use of them to lie and mislead. To prepare for this eventuality, governments, businesses, and civil society organizations should develop norms and policies for the use of AI-generated text, as well as techniques for figuring out the origin of a particular piece of text and whether it has been created using AI,” Georgetown University’s Josh A. Goldstein and OpenAI’s Girish Sastry write for Foreign Affairs.
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Philippine President: U.S. Cannot Use Bases for Offensive Action Against China |
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. clarified that Washington has not asked Manila (Bloomberg) to allow Philippine bases to be staging grounds for offensive action. Separately, he said that the Philippines, Japan, and the United States are in talks for a trilateral defense treaty.
For the Asia Unbound blog, CFR’s Joshua Kurlantzick explains how the Philippines fits into U.S.-China tensions in Southeast Asia.
China/Canada: China’s foreign ministry protested the possible expulsion (SCMP) of a Chinese diplomat in Canada who Ottawa has accused of participating in a harassment campaign against a Canadian lawmaker.
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Chinese, Pakistani, Taliban Officials Begin Security Talks in Islamabad |
The two-day talks in Pakistan’s capital will focus on regional security issues (VOA). Ahead of the talks, China said plans for development projects in Afghanistan would be conditioned on improvements in the country’s security situation.
Indonesia/Myanmar: Indonesia has conducted low-profile negotiations with all major factions involved in Myanmar’s civil war in an effort to broker peace, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told Reuters.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Top U.S. Security Advisor to Visit Saudi Arabia |
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (AP) this weekend. Sullivan’s Indian and Emirati counterparts will also be in Saudi Arabia, where the officials are expected to discuss the war in Yemen and new areas of cooperation between India and Arab Gulf states. This Backgrounder looks at the war in Yemen.
U.S./Tunisia: Nearly two dozen academics, activists, and former U.S. officials called on President Biden (MEE) to suspend U.S. aid to Tunisia in response to the country’s ongoing crackdown on civil society and opposition figures.
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South Africa Confirms It Allowed Sanctioned Russian Plane to Land at Military Base |
The plane, which landed in South Africa last week, is owned by a company that the United States sanctioned in January for transporting goods for Russia’s armed forces, Business Day reported. South Africa’s military said the plane was carrying diplomatic mail.
U.S./Sudan: Biden signed an order authorizing U.S. sanctions (AP) against individuals involved in the recent violence in Sudan, though no specific targets were named.
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Wagner Boss Threatens to Leave Bakhmut Over Lack of Support From Moscow |
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Credit Suisse Buys $1.6 Billion in Ecuadorian Bonds in Debt-for-Nature Swap |
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Vox explains what to expect when the United Kingdom enthrones King Charles in the country’s first coronation in seventy years. |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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