The puzzle pieces that can defuse the US-China AI race dynamic, with Kayla Blomquist

Almost every serious discussion about options to constrain the development of advanced AI results in someone raising the question: “But what about China?” The worry behind this question is that slowing down AI research and development in the US and Europe will allow China to race ahead.

It's true: the relationship between China and the rest of the world has many complications. That’s why we’re delighted that our guest in this episode is Kayla Blomquist, the Co-founder and Director of the Oxford China Policy Lab, or OCPL for short. OCPL describes itself as a global community of China and emerging technology researchers at Oxford, who produce policy-relevant research to navigate risks in the US-China relationship and beyond.

In parallel with her role at OCPL, Kayla is pursuing a DPhil at the Oxford Internet Institute. She is a recent fellow at the Centre for Governance of AI, and the lead researcher and contributing author to the Oxford China Briefing Book. She holds an MSc from the Oxford Internet Institute and a BA with Honours in International Relations, Public Policy, and Mandarin Chinese from the University of Denver. She also studied at Peking University and is professionally fluent in Mandarin.

Kayla previously worked as a diplomat in the U.S. Mission to China, where she specialized in the governance of emerging technologies, human rights, and improving the use of new technology within government services.

Selected follow-ups:

• Kayla Blomquist - Personal site
• Oxford China Policy Lab
• The Oxford Internet Institute (OII)
• Google AI defeats human Go champion (Ke Jie)
• AI Safety Summit 2023 (Bletchley Park, UK)
• United Kingdom: Balancing Safety, Security, and Growth - OCPL
• China wants to lead the world on AI regulation - report from APEC 2025
• China's WAICO proposal and the reordering of global AI governance
• Impact of AI on cyber threat from now to 2027
• Options for the future of the global governance of AI - London Futurists Webinar
• A Tentative Draft of a Treaty - Online appendix to the book If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies
• An International Agreement to Prevent the Premature Creation of Artificial Superintelligence

Music: Spike Protein, by Koi Discovery, available under CC0 1.0 Public Domain Declaration

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