U.S. State Department to Demand Allies Choose Sides in AI Race Against China
The U.S. is preparing to inform dozens of partner countries that they must align with either the U.S. or China in the artificial intelligence (AI) race. According to a U.S. official and an internal draft reviewed by Reuters, countries that join Beijing's competing AI framework will be excluded from a U.S.-led AI coalition. This directive falls under the 'Pax Silica initiative,' launched last year by Washington to secure supply chains for AI models, semiconductors, and critical minerals, amidst an intense technological rivalry with Beijing. Approximately two dozen countries have already joined Pax Silica, including close U.S. allies like Japan, Australia, and South Korea. Kazakhstan is noted as the only country to have joined both the U.S. initiative and China's rival 'World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization,' which was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in July to promote open-weight technology. The draft letter from the State Department, addressed to 35 signatories of a U.S. 'AI Oppor... 
