Elon Musk thinks China is interested in an international AI framework

By Kanishka Singh and Anna Tong

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Billionaire Elon Musk said on Wednesday he thinks China is interested in a cooperative international framework on artificial intelligence, from conversations he had when he visited China a few weeks ago.

Musk made the remarks in a Twitter Space event with two U.S. congressmen, Democrat Ro Khanna and Republican Mike Gallagher.

“China is definitely interested in working in a cooperative international framework for AI regulation,” Musk said. He added that he has advocated for artificial intelligence regulations and oversight, including in his meetings in China.

The remarks came on the same day that Musk launched his long-teased artificial intelligence startup, xAI, after arguing for months about AI’s potential for “civilization destruction.”

A few weeks ago, Musk traveled to China, where his Tesla (NASDAQ:) electric car company has a factory in Shanghai, and met with China’s foreign, commerce and industry ministers in Beijing. He also met with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang.

After meeting with officials during his China trip, Musk last month said the Chinese government would seek to initiate artificial intelligence regulations in China.

Several governments are considering how to mitigate the dangers of the emerging technology, which has experienced a boom in investment and consumer popularity in recent months after the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Regulators globally have been scrambling to draw up rules governing the use of generative AI, which can create text and images, and whose impact has been compared to that of the internet.