China urged to avoid ‘us or them’ split with US over AI governance

China should try to make sure that its new international artificial intelligence body is not seen as “naturally opposed” to the United States and its allies in case it puts off prospective members, analysts have warned.

They said the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (Waico) was not designed as an alternative to the US Pax Silica partnership, which was established last December with the aim of reducing “coercive dependencies”.

Although China has repeatedly insisted that Waico was designed to advance “AI for good and for all”, it came under intense international scrutiny amid claims it was a strategic move by Beijing to rally friendly capitals against Washington in the race for global AI leadership.

Pax Silica, which has 24 members and core objectives that include building “supply chain security”, is widely perceived as being, at least in part, an effort to build a tech bloc that is walled off from China.

The emergence of the two blocs has also raised concerns that the global AI landscape will become polarised between two rival camps.