Will Chinese AI companies slow down? A top House Democrat wants answers

He is also skeptical of a planned Tuesday meeting between the White House, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), and several American tech executives. “I think it’s an effort to reassure the American people that these tech companies are going to be responsible, and it’s a branding exercise,” Khanna says. “But why should we trust companies that have a motive to maximize profits to be making the rules for what is safe? It’s not that they’re bad people, but would you trust the pharmaceutical executives to determine the rules for what drugs are safe?”

“Why should we trust companies that have a motive to maximize profits to be making the rules for what is safe?”

Khanna ultimately seeks a US-China treaty banning RSI and monitoring frontier AI labs, but he recognizes that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has similarly called for an AI treaty between the countries, though Republicans like House China Committee Chair John Moolenaar (R-MI) have been skeptica l the Chinese government would keep its end of the bargain. In the meantime, Khanna says he’d like a working group with experts from both countries to suggest safety recommendations and methods for ensuring compliance.

But Trump and his allies have been resistant to most regulations or agreements. The morning of his meeting with Xi last week, Trump posted on Truth Social , “Super Intelligence (SI) will be a big topic of discussion, but I want to leave it exactly where it is. That is China’s position also.” Johnson said on Fox Business that he expected the conversation to revolve around striking “the right balance” of oversight without stifling innovation, warning against losing the AI race against China. Leading US AI companies, however, have called for the US to coordinate with China to slow down the pace of development

In the letter to the Chinese AI companies, Khanna acknowledges they’re unlikely to respond in full. He said they didn’t respond to requests in an earlier letter asking for a commitment to slow down AI development alongside OpenAI and Anthropic. Khanna tells The Verge his goal is to “shame them” and “spark a debate” among Chinese AI companies about safety. While he’s critical of US AI firms too, he says, “at least they’re engaging in safety conversations.”

Khanna remains confident the US will drive AI safety standards, in part because he believes many Chinese models are distilled from US models. And while world leaders may not recognize the threat, they’re “out of touch with the scientists and technologists in their own countries,” he says. “We need to get the technologists and the engineers who understand this really driving the debate, not CEOs who have a vested interest in making profits, and not politicians who lack a technical expertise and who are more concerned about power.”