China calls for more controls on AI while Trump sees a "sick conspiracy" in it

BarcelonaThe warning cry surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) that Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei launched on Saturday, calling for a slowdown in its development, has shaken the public debate on this issue. Until now, the European Union has been an exception in the world when it comes to regulating AI. While Europe, which currently does not have a strong industry in the sector, is setting limits on certain functions to prevent them from colliding with basic rights, the two world powers, the United States and China, have long been competing neck and neck to lead the development of this technology. And in the midst of this battle and following the warning from big tech companies, China has in recent hours redoubled its commitment to controlling its development, calling for the creation of a "safety barrier".

The Minister of State Security, Chen Yixin, has positioned AI as one of the main fields of global technological competition, and has warned of the risks posed by its accelerated development. Specifically, the Chinese minister has called for strengthening the supervision of data, algorithms, computing capacity, and the civil and military applications of the technology. Among the threats he has pointed out are the generation of fake content, cyberattacks, data leaks, manipulation of public opinion, disinformation, and the use of artificial intelligence systems for military purposes.

If Europe's efforts are focused on the post, that is, on regulating the functions of AI once it has already been created, the message that Beijing is now insisting on aims to place emphasis on the pre, that is, on who, how, and why this technology is created. Far from wanting to slow down its progress, China is asking for the rules of the game to be the same for everyone and for more controls to be established on its development. This Monday, Beijing accused Washington of using the pretext of national security to limit the access of other countries to cutting-edge equipment and capabilities developed in the United States, and through Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, has asked that "all parties" collaborate to advance AI in an "open, inclusive, accessible to all, and good-oriented" way. Only then, it maintains, will it be possible to achieve global governance over AI.

In this sense, in July 29 countries signed an agreement in Shanghai to create the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, an intergovernmental organization aimed at promoting international cooperation and AI governance. While this organization is not yet operational, however, Beijing, despite betting on open technology, maintains tight control over the AI models developed in the country.

Trump speaks of "negative forces"

On the other side of the Pacific, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, showed a completely opposite position this Monday to that of the Asian giant, labeling those who call for regulating the computing tool as "negative forces." For the New York magnate, the United States is "the most sophisticated country in the world" and it is necessary to "keep it that way." In this latest episode, Trump sees a "sick conspiracy" regarding AI and data centers, pointed out for their high environmental cost, and has asserted that the US has the power, on its own, to regulate and control AI companies. "The only control or safety mechanism that AI needs is a strong and intelligent president (with a high IQ!), and the US has plenty of that!", he wrote on his social network, Truth Social.

The concern expressed by some figures in the technology sector has not changed the American president's mind, who rejects the warnings about the risk of the current accelerated development of AI and argues that the US must maintain global leadership in this field to prevent China from gaining an advantage. "Whoever wins AI, wins," affirmed the American president, who considers that slowing down the development of the technology could harm the US position in the competition with Beijing.

While it is true that Washington leads the global race in the field of innovation, Chinese companies such as DeepSeek, Alibaba, Tencent, Moonshot, and Zhipu compete with the large American companies in the sector despite the United States' restrictions on access to certain advanced technologies and some chips essential for developing AI systems. And Trump does not want a possible slowdown in development to become the final push for Beijing to surpass Washington in the technological race.

The UN warns of the risk to human rights

From Europe, Brussels for now chooses to avoid getting fully into the debate. It shows itself in favor of promoting the development of innovation in artificial intelligence, but stresses that companies must demonstrate that their services are safe so that citizens can operate within community territory. "The responsibility lies with the companies," asserted this Monday one of the European Commission's spokespersons, Thomas Regnier, who also took the opportunity to boast about the European regulatory commitment: "We can strongly say that we are leaders," he assured. "We have the AI Act and it is fully applied. We are enforcing it."

And amidst the warnings from big tech companies, the UN also launched a warning message this Monday. The United Nations has placed emphasis on the "qualitative leap" that AI is experiencing and the "great existential risks" that this entails, and has made it clear that unregulated development of this tool puts all human rights at risk, "including the rights to life, food, privacy, health and security," noted the UN High Commissioner Volker Türk.