The exponential growth of the technology’s capabilities, including the ability to hack autonomously, has forced a global reckoning over its power.
Beijing is weighing restrictions on overseas access to some of China’s leading AI models, highlighting the growing tension with its stringent national security agenda.
The US touted Kazakhstan in June as the first country in Central Asia to join Pax Silica, bringing significant reserves of critical minerals that fuel advanced technologies.
China has used its current near-monopolies over critical minerals as a retaliatory weapon in a tariff war launched last year by US President Donald Trump, who has ramped up US efforts to source the minerals domestically and from allies.
Members of Pax Silica have access to shared investment opportunities in AI-related projects while those who sign the AI Opportunity Statement have symbolically agreed on a “common purpose” and “shared vision” with the US, according to the statement posted on the State Department’s website.
US officials drafted the letter to make clear that “you can’t have it both ways”, the US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity given ongoing internal discussions on the issue.
“It’s difficult to see how a country can credibly position themselves as trusted partners in one technology ecosystem while simultaneously signing up for an initiative designed by China to advance a competing vision for AI,” the official said.
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