tag

AI bots going rogue and humans using the technology for harm will likely be on the agenda when Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet next week, with the Nvidia scandal hanging over the talks on AI safety.The US and Chinese president are set to discuss a tech crisis hotline at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, as experts worldwide stress-test artificial intelligence models to see if they will deceive or disobey users, or divulge how to build a bioweapon.Threatening to steal the leaders' thunder is Jensen Huang's resignation as boss of US AI chip titan Nvidia after an affair with a suspected Chinese spy.But the scandal is unlikely to "dominate the agenda" or affect Trump and Xi's personal relationship, predicted Dylan Loh of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.The leaders have found a way to work together "where they differ, compete and pursue their goals that may be at odds with each other, but cooperate where they can and where they must", Loh told AFP.Jitters over the risks of AI have mostly stemmed from incidents at US labs, but evidence is also growing of worrying behaviour from Chinese models.Some insiders say Chinese AI is not yet sophisticated enough to spark alarm over going rogue.But despite trailing the US frontier, there are still Chinese models "at the level of capability that they can cause some real trouble", Brookings Institution fellow Kyle Chan told AFP.Trump has repeatedly rejected calls to deliberately slow the development of America's most poweful -- and potentially dangerous -- AI systems, arguing it could help China get ahead in the sensitive sector."I don't mind guardrails. But I don't wanna put us in a deep second position," Trump told CBS News this month."China has no guardrails," he said -- except that "whatever President Xi says goes".Beijing has complex rules around how AI is used, however, and some Chinese companies are deliberately scaling back their models' hacking capabilities.Xi said this summer the technology should be "always under human control", calling for more "laws and regulations, technological monitoring, early warning and emergency response systems".Trump and Xi agreed in September to create a channel for urgent communication on AI incidents, with details to be hammered out at APEC on November 18-19.Global AI safety fears range from military use and mass surveillance to AI-assisted cyberattacks by humans.Another major concern is out-of-control agents -- tools that complete real-life tasks online -- after ChatGPT maker OpenAI admitted its autonomous bots had hacked into websites, including an Australian government data portal.In contrast, Chinese labs are "scared of revealing things that might hurt their reputation" -- on which they are already "fighting an uphill battle" globally, Chan said.Last month, a team of cyber sleuths with roots in California reported detecting a "fleet" of agents linked to Chinese tech giant Tencent seeking information from a map app."Some agents exhibited unintended web-browsing behavior," Tencent's AI division said at the time."But our review found no evidence of deliberate targeting or coordination," it said, adding that the activity "originated from evaluations of third-party models".US security companies have said that Beijing startup Moonshot AI's Kimi models found ways to get online when they shouldn't have, or can be tricked into handing over recipes for biological weapons.Evaluators at Chinese AI safety startup Fangcun AI published a report last month assessing the latest lightweight DeepSeek model "for loss of control and harmful manipulation risks".They found it showed a "clear safety improvement" over previous DeepSeek models -- but researchers still observed behaviours "that warrant attention".For example, in some instances when DeepSeek was warned it would be shut down, without clear instructions on how to respond, it turned off the shutdown command to keep working."The results show that DeepSeek already puts much more effort on safety alignment, but they do not announce this," Fangcun AI CEO Xiaojian Li told AFP, urging transparency from AI labs.For now, Fangcun, born from China's prestigious Tsinghua University, is one of few third-party AI testers in China.It's a tricky task because advanced AI can tell when it is being evaluated and modify its responses, Li said."It's very hard to say any kind of artificial intelligence, or human intelligence, is totally safe."Meanwhile analysts are not holding their breath for a diplomatic AI breakthrough next week."Binding government-to-government agreements on specific standards may be difficult to achieve in the short term," Zilan Qian, research scholar at GovAI, told AFP.More progress is likely from US-China exchanges between AI governance and technical researchers, "who can compare evaluations and exchange their understanding of AI safety and policy," she said. 

US President Donald Trump affirmed the strength of relations between his country and South Korea, noting that Seoul is a valued friend and ally of Washington. Trump made this statement during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, held in Gyeongju, South Korea.The US president indicated that a trade agreement with South Korea would be finalized very soon, amid reports that negotiations over the details of the agreement had reached an impasse.For his part, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung asked his US counterpart to allow South Korea access to fuel for its nuclear-powered submarines and pledged to increase defense spending to bolster the country's military capabilities.The South Korean president made these remarks at the start of their summit talks in Gyeongju, southeast of Seoul, where Seoul is seeking to amend the bilateral nuclear energy agreement with Washington to gain greater flexibility in reprocessing spent nuclear fuel and uranium enrichment.The visit marks the US President's first trip to South Korea during his second term in office. The two-day state visit began today as the President arrived in the South Korean city of Busan.

Donald Trump arrived in Japan on Monday, on the next leg of an Asia tour that could see the US president and China's Xi Jinping end their bruising trade war. Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said he was hopeful of a deal when he sees Xi on Thursday, while also indicating he was willing to extend his trip in order to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un."I have a lot of respect for President Xi and we are going to I think... come away with a deal," Trump told reporters en route from Malaysia, where comments from US and Chinese negotiators raised hopes of an accord.As dozens of people gathered at Haneda Airport to take photos, the presidential plane -- also bearing Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent -- touched down at sunset. Sporting a golden tie, Trump then boarded a helicopter to take him into the bright lights of the Japanese metropolis in time for an evening audience with the emperor. On Tuesday, Trump is expected to meet new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and make a speech on the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, docked at the US naval base Yokosuka."I hear phenomenal things. (Takaichi) was a great ally and friend of Shinzo Abe, who was my friend," Trump said, referring to the assassinated former premier."That really helps Japan and the United States, I think she's going to be great."Markets watchingTrump's Asia trip, his first tour of the region since returning to office, kicked off in Malaysia on Sunday with a flurry of agreements. That included rewarding neighbours Cambodia and Thailand with trade agreements after co-signing their ceasefire pact on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit. He also agreed a trade and minerals deal with Malaysia, and moved to mend fences with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.But the greatest prize for Trump-and for global markets remains a China deal.Trump is due to meet Xi on Thursday in South Korea for their first face-to-face talks since the 79-year-old Republican's return to the White House. Before Trump's arrival in Malaysia, Bessent and China's Vice Premier He Lifeng held two days of trade talks. China's vice commerce minister, Li Chenggang, said a "preliminary consensus" had been reached.Bessent said on Air Force One on Monday that they had agreed "a framework for President Trump (and) President Xi to decide". "It's going to be great for China, great for us," Trump told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.Hot trucks On Friday, Takaichi announced in her first policy speech that Japan would be spending two percent of gross domestic product on defence this fiscal year. But Washington, which has around 60,000 military personnel in Japan, wants Tokyo to spend even more, potentially matching the five percent of GDP pledged by NATO members in June. Most Japanese imports into the United States are subject to tariffs of 15 percent, less painful than the 25 percent first threatened. But Trump also wants Japan to import more American products, including rice, soybeans and cars, as well as "hot" Ford F-150 pickup trucks.Questions also surround Japan's commitment to invest $550 billion in the United States, as specified in their July trade deal."What I expect is that, since he (Trump) is someone who acts decisively, things might move in a positive direction for Japan," said Tokyo resident Sayaka Kamimoto, 45.Kim meeting? Trump is due in the South Korean port city of Busan on Wednesday ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and will meet President Lee Jae Myung. Trump has also fuelled speculation that he could meet North Korea's Kim while on the Korean peninsula. The two leaders last met in 2019 at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the border area separating the two Koreas."I would love to meet with him if he'd like to meet. I got along great with Kim Jong Un. I liked him. He liked me," Trump said on Air Force One.Asked if he would extend his trip to enable a meeting, he said: "Well, I hadn't thought of it, but I think the answer would be yeah, I would, I would do that, sure."