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AI crisis heightens the stakes of Xi’s visit to Washington
Los Angeles Times ^ | Sept. 17, 2026 10:15 AM PT | Michael Wilner and Nilesh Christopher

Posted on 09/18/2026 12:10:02 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

WASHINGTON — A growing sense of urgency over the risks posed by artificial intelligence is adding pressure on the Trump administration to secure a diplomatic breakthrough with China when Chinese President Xi Jinping travels to the White House for a state visit next week.

Expectations for a deal that establishes guardrails on AI are low on both sides, which continue to drive a headlong race toward potentially unfathomable intelligence capabilities. Ahead of the meeting, rhetoric from Washington and Beijing has underscored only deepening acrimony and distrust over their rush to dominate the technological frontier.

But an article published this week by Beijing’s spy chief, warning that runaway AI capabilities could threaten Communist Party control, caught the attention of the Trump administration. One U.S. official told The Times that the blunt assessment accurately reflects private thinking inside Xi’s government about the growing risks.

Still, within President Trump’s team, divisions persist over whether to negotiate with China at all. Top U.S. officials doubt whether any agreement could be credibly enforced or verified. Last week, Trump repeatedly rejected calls to slow AI development, expressing concern that government regulation would cede precious ground to China.

And a high-profile U.S. debate over AI safety, kicked off last week by a warning from an AI researcher, prompted a defensive response from Beijing, where a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson accused Washington of “fearmongering, confrontation and vicious competition.”

The U.S. approach “will only disrupt the process of global AI governance,” the ministry said,...

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS:
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1 posted on 09/18/2026 12:10:02 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
The U.S. approach “will only disrupt the process of global AI governance,” the ministry said,...

And that, my children, is what the AI "crisis" is all about; a campaign to turn AI control over to a global government.

2 posted on 09/18/2026 12:12:05 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (The right of Democrats to embezzle elections shall not be infringed. )
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

It’s a crisis for China if we keep throwing everything we have at the technology.


3 posted on 09/18/2026 12:13:35 PM PDT by ComputerGuy
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To: All

Heard xi had a stroke , any idea how he is doing now ? Or was it all made up in the first place


4 posted on 09/18/2026 12:15:10 PM PDT by escapefromboston (Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.)
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To: escapefromboston

He’s dead, Jim. 🤡


5 posted on 09/18/2026 12:18:40 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (The right of Democrats to embezzle elections shall not be infringed. )
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To: escapefromboston

Putin in a diaper dirty diaper story.


6 posted on 09/18/2026 12:30:41 PM PDT by Nextrush (FREEDOM IS EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS, REMEMBER REV; NIEMOLLER)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

AI is the new ‘Star Wars’ and it will break China like SW broke the Soviets.


7 posted on 09/18/2026 12:34:51 PM PDT by HYPOCRACY (There is no gravity. The earth just sucks. )
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To: HYPOCRACY

I agree with that.

Everything is going the wrong way for China, and AI is really the last straw. I won’t be surprised if China has a civil war.


8 posted on 09/18/2026 12:42:12 PM PDT by ClearCase_guy (Some people want to control their own life, others want to control the lives of others. )
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To: escapefromboston

9 posted on 09/18/2026 12:48:28 PM PDT by ArcadeQuarters (You can't remove RINOs by voting for them!)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
The LA Times' Michael Wilner and Nilesh Christopher are soon to be replaced by AI bots.

:)

10 posted on 09/18/2026 12:51:14 PM PDT by Worldtraveler once upon a time (Degrow government)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Interesting perspective.

Steve Eisman of The Big Short is absolutely correct here, they're trying to convince the government to bail out the trillions wasted on attempting to achieve AI.

Steve Eisman of The Big Short
11 posted on 09/18/2026 1:10:20 PM PDT by Kid Shelleen (Beat your plowshares into swords. Let the weak say I am strong)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

China is paying US politicians to fight against AI.


12 posted on 09/18/2026 1:18:06 PM PDT by for-q-clinton
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
And that, my children, is what the AI "crisis" is all about; a campaign to turn AI control over to a global government.

AND to weed out 'younger' companies moving up on anthropic... About 30,000 American citizens are killed by steel boxes built in Detroit... and the only thing democrat elites care about with those companies is how much mileage per gallon of gas they get...

13 posted on 09/18/2026 1:37:29 PM PDT by GOPJ (The AI/Data Center Crap is a "Global Warming" type lie to scare voters - pushed by corrupt 'elites')
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

It’s now a “crisis”?

What happened to the Climate crisis?
The housing crisis?
The affordability crisis?
The ICE crisis?


14 posted on 09/18/2026 1:39:00 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Perhaps.


15 posted on 09/18/2026 1:40:05 PM PDT by No name given ( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as )
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To: GOPJ
About 30,000 American citizens are killed by steel boxes built in Detroit... and the only thing democrat elites care about with those companies is how much mileage per gallon of gas they get...

Most Republicans joined Democrats in voting to mandate kill switches and driver observation into new cars built after 2027, so it's wrong to say they only care about MPG.

16 posted on 09/18/2026 1:43:11 PM PDT by Gunslingr3
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

So, it’s at crisis level now?

We need to ask AI about how to handle this crisis. The all-knowing/super-intelligent overlord will solve this crisis.

I asked AI how it could solve the war in Ukraine. It gave me the opposite answer from what I was expecting. It just said how it was helping the military sides in getting their jobs done more efficiently. Not very helpful, that AI dude.


17 posted on 09/18/2026 1:53:16 PM PDT by adorno ( )
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To: HYPOCRACY

I doubt AI will break the Chinese bank - for one thing - AI can write it’s own code and needs little supervision in a totalitarian state. It becomes ‘cheap’ in no time. China’s not doing the ‘data center’ freak out like our idiots.

They - China - could win this race.

China winning is a real threat. Chinese AI attacking our computers, AI, analog systems and grids is a million times worse than a few AI agents going rouge.


18 posted on 09/18/2026 2:03:37 PM PDT by GOPJ (The AI/Data Center Crap is a "Global Warming" type lie to scare voters - pushed by corrupt 'elites')
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Oh, now AI is a crisis? When did that happen?


19 posted on 09/18/2026 2:20:13 PM PDT by Antoninus (Confusion and disorder to the Left.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Correct


20 posted on 09/18/2026 2:38:16 PM PDT by cowboyusa (YESHUA IS KING OF AMERICA!)
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