The Chinese government is dismissing “fearmongering” about the risks of AI that Anthropic chief Dario Amodei recently declared are severe enough to justify slowing down the development of artificial intelligence models. The slowdown would provide more time to build the “necessary guardrails.”
The People’s Republic China doesn’t want to slow down, which seems to put an end to the plan suggested by Amodei and other U.S. tech moguls, at least if the proposed slowdown is to be worldwide (The Guardian, September 14, 2026).
The US tech entrepreneur and Anthropic chief executive, Dario Amodei, wrote an essay published over the weekend that called for a global slowdown in [developing] AI capabilities, but also said Washington should actively impede Beijing’s advancement in order to keep a technological edge.
Warning that AI could give the Chinese Communist party a chance “to militarily dominate democracies”, Amodei said he believed “a Chinese lead in AI would pose grave danger for the US and the world”.
China’s ministry of foreign affairs responded to a question about Amodei’s essay by saying all parties should work together on AI.
“Fearmongering, confrontation and vicious competition will only disrupt the process of global AI governance, which serves no one’s interest,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a press conference on Monday.
Sounds like vicious competitor China is projecting again.
Anti-CCP forces
CCP officials have also been mongering fears. According to Chen Yixin, head of China’s ministry of state security, AI is being abused by “hostile forces and individuals with ulterior motives” to fight a “propaganda war and a cognitive war against us, directly threatening our political security, institutional security, and ideological security.”
We must hope that this is true—that the Republic of China and other countries are indeed doing all they can to combat the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda and cognitive warfare and are doing so effectively.
The phrase “ideological security” is telling. Beijing’s concerns about so-called ideological security—the security of perfect monopoly of viewpoint—are why the Party so relentlessly opposes freedom of expression, both domestically and, to lesser but increasing effect, internationally. Party bosses would love to find a way to keep everybody in the world from ever disagreeing with the CCP hive mind. Meanwhile, the government is imprisoning those who are within its power for lighting candles and promoting democracy.
With respect to hindering China’s AI technology, Amodei’s post offers some indisputably good advice, whether or not combined with the “pacing” of AI development that he also recommends.
Do not sell powerful AI chips or semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, and crack down on chip smuggling operations and remote access to data centers outside China. Chips will be the main determinant of China’s AI strength.
Crack down on unauthorized distillation by companies in authoritarian countries. Distillation of frontier models allows lagging companies to narrow the gap using a fraction of the cost it would take to develop their own AI independently.
Strengthen security at the AI companies and prevent model weight theft.
American AI companies can strengthen their own security; including, says the U.S Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), by taking steps to thwart malicious distillation.
But only the U.S. government can prohibit U.S. firms from selling and smuggling AI chips and other semiconductor technology to PRC firms. And its track record on this score is spotty.
Also see:
CISA: “China-Based Artificial Intelligence Companies Conducting Industrial-Scale Distillation Campaigns Against U.S. AI Companies” (September 8, 2026)
Dario Amodei: “We Must Pace the Frontier” (September 2026)
