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Jensen Huang, the boss of Nvidia, told reporters in London this week that the United States “absolutely must” work with Chinese AI companies to watch for AI risks. He says more talk between countries and researchers will keep AI safe. That is the news. It is worth noting — and worrying about — what “work with” might actually mean when the people across the table answer to a regime that steals technology and threatens American interests.
Huang’s Pitch: Dialogue Over Regulation
Huang is pushing dialogue, not a full stop. He says he already speaks with researchers in China and that governments should be part of the conversation. Nvidia also announced a big compute donation to the U.K. to fund agentic AI safety research, and Huang framed that as proof that capability and safety must move together. Those are sensible words. Dialogue is better than secrecy. But words are cheap. We need clear rules, not just friendly chats over academic coffee.
Industry Split and Politics
Not everybody in the AI world agrees. Leaders like Dario Amodei and Sam Altman have been louder about slowing down or creating tougher guardrails. Huang, by contrast, has resisted a broad slowdown and even took a live call from President Trump at a public event to signal he’s standing against those calls. That political theater showed where Huang’s loyalties sit: keep building, keep selling chips, and keep America competitive. Fair enough — but that position raises real questions about how to balance speed with safety.
Fine Print: Export Rules and National Security
Here’s the catch everyone is skirting: U.S. export controls already limit how advanced chips and compute get to China. Nvidia itself has warned investors that those rules have tightened its China business. So when Huang says the U.S. “must” work with Chinese firms, he is advocating for cooperation inside a very narrow, legally fraught lane. Dialogue does not equal technical collaboration. And it sure doesn’t mean handing over sensitive chip designs or next‑generation models to the Chinese state. If that’s what “work with” becomes, it’s not safety — it’s surrender.
Practical Terms Matter
If Washington is serious about AI safety, it must write the playbook. Conversations with China should be limited, transparent, and wrapped in legal and security safeguards. The U.K. can host research and convene experts, but the U.S. should lead on standards, export enforcement, and vetting who gets access to frontier compute. Let’s have dialogues — but not at the expense of America’s secrets or advantage.
What America Should Demand
Huang’s call for more dialogue deserves attention. Cooperation can help spot risks before they turn into disasters. But conservatives should be skeptical of broad, ambiguous cooperation with a geopolitical rival. Congress and the administration need to set clear rules that protect national security while encouraging safe innovation. Talk is useful. Oversight, export controls, and firm lines in the sand are nonnegotiable. In short: yes to conversation, no to naiveté — and if anyone tries to pretend otherwise, hand them a checklist before you hand over the compute.
