27/07/2025

theSun on Sunday JULY 27, 2025

WORLD 8

Beijing urges consensus on AI development, security

Disgraced ex-congressman reports to prison NEW YORK: Disgraced former Republican lawmaker George Santos, who was expelled from the US Congress for using stolen donor cash to bankroll a lavish lifestyle, reported to prison on Friday to start his seven-year sentence. Santos, 37, had pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft for his elaborate grifting while a lawmaker representing New York. He turned himself in at the federal prison in Fairton, New Jersey, the Bureau of Prisons said. Despite his guilty plea, prosecutors insisted Santos’ social media showed his claims of remorse “ring hollow” and Judge Joanna Seybert in April handed down a sentence of seven years and three months. Santos was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2022 and indicted the following year for stealing campaign donors’ identities and using their credit cards. He was ultimately doomed by the congressional probe that found overwhelming evidence of misconduct and accused him of seeking to “fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy”. Santos was expelled from the House in 2023, becoming only the third person to be ejected as a US lawmaker since the Civil War, a rebuke previously reserved for traitors and convicted criminals. – AFP US, China cross swords over Ukraine NEW YORK: The United States told China at the United Nations on Friday it should “stop fuelling Russia’s aggression”. Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea urged all countries, specifically naming China, to stop exports to Russia of dual-use goods that Washington says contribute to Russia’s war industrial base. “Beijing’s claim to have implemented strong export controls on dual-use goods falls apart in the face of daily recovery of Chinese-produced components in the drones, weapons, and vehicles,” Shea told a meeting of the 15-member UN Security Council on Ukraine. China did not start the war in Ukraine, is not a party to the conflict, has never provided lethal weapons, and has always “strictly controlled dual-use materials, including the export of drones”, China’s deputy UN Ambassador Geng Shuang responded. “We urge the US to stop shifting blame or creating confrontation and instead play a more constructive role in promoting ceasefire and peace talks,” he told the council. – Reuters

‘Defining test of international cooperation’

“To survive,” he said, you need to ensure you can train it not to kill you when it grows up. In a video message played at the WAIC opening ceremony, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said AI governance would be “a defining test of international cooperation”. The ceremony also saw the French president’s AI envoy, Anne Bouverot, underscore “an urgent need” for global action. At an AI summit in Paris in February, 58 countries including China, France and India – as well as the European Union and African Union Commission – called for enhanced coordination on AI governance. But the United States warned against “excessive regulation”, and alongside the United Kingdom, refused to sign the summit’s appeal for an “open”, “inclusive” and “ethical” AI. – AFP

Washington has expanded its efforts in recent years to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China, concerned that these can be used to advance Beijing’s military systems and erode US tech dominance. For its part, China has made AI a pillar of its plans for technological self-reliance, with the government pledging a raft of measures to boost the sector. In January, Chinese startup DeepSeek unveiled an AI model that performed as well as top US systems despite using less powerful chips. At a time when AI is being integrated across virtually all industries, its uses have raised major ethical questions, from the spread of misinformation to its impact on employment, or the potential loss of technological control. In a speech, physicist Geoffrey Hinton compared the situation to keeping “a very cute tiger cub as a pet”.

SHANGHAI: Premier Li Qiang has warned that artificial intelligence development must be weighed against security risks, saying global consensus was urgently needed even as the tech race between Beijing and Washington shows no sign of abating. His remarks came just days after President Donald Trump unveiled an aggressive low regulation strategy aimed at cementing US dominance in the fast-moving field, promising to “remove red tape and onerous regulation” that could hinder private sector AI development. Opening the World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai yesterday, Li emphasised the need for governance and open source development, announcing the establishment of a Chinese-led body for international AI cooperation. “The risks and challenges

brought intelligence drawn widespread attention ... How to find a balance between development and security urgently requires further consensus from the entire society,” he said. Li said China would “actively promote” the development of open-source AI, adding Beijing was willing to share advances with other countries. “If we engage in technological monopolies, controls and blockage, artificial intelligence will become the preserve of a few countries and a few enterprises,” he said. “Only by adhering to openness, sharing and fairness in access to intelligence can more countries and groups benefit from (AI).” Li highlighted “insufficient supply of computing power and chips” as a bottleneck. by artificial have

UN chief blasts ‘lack of compassion’ for Palestinians NEW YORK: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday slammed the international community for turning a blind eye to widespread starvation in the Gaza Strip, calling it a “moral crisis that challenges the global conscience”.

“I cannot explain the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community – the lack of compassion, the lack of truth, the lack of humanity,” Guterres told Amnesty International’s global assembly via video link. “This is not just a humanitarian crisis. It is a moral crisis that challenges the global conscience. We will continue to speak out at every opportunity.” Aid groups have warned of surging cases of starvation in Gaza, which Israel placed under an aid blockade in March. That blockade was partially eased two months later. The trickle of aid since then has been controlled by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, replacing the UN-led distribution system. International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric said on Friday “there is no excuse for what is happening in Gaza”. “The scale of human suffering and the stripping of human dignity have long exceeded every acceptable standard – both legal and moral.” Spoljaric said the ICRC has

Concerned New Yorkers protesting in front of the UN headquarters on Friday. – REUTERSPIC

aid supplies since May 27, when the GHF began operations. “We need action: an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access.” He said the United Nations was ready to “dramatically scale up humanitarian operations” in Gaza should Israel and Hamas reach a ceasefire deal. – AFP

“The scale and scope is beyond anything we have seen in recent times,” he said. “Children speak of wanting to go to heaven, because at least, they say, there is food there. We hold video calls with our own humanitarians who are starving before our eyes ... But words don’t feed hungry children.” Guterres also condemned the killing of more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to access food

more than 350 staff in Gaza, “many of whom are also struggling to find enough food and clean water”. Aid groups and the United Nations have refused to work with the GHF, accusing it of aiding Israeli military goals. Guterres said while he had repeatedly condemned the Oct 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, “nothing can justify the explosion of death and destruction since”.