US tech executives Jensen Huang and Elon Musk caution against strict AI regulations, emphasizing the need for innovation to stay ahead in the US-China technology competition.
# US tech chiefs Huang, Musk warn against AI curbs amid race with China
Source: [https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3366216/tech-race-flashpoint-huang-musk-push-back-ai-guard-rails-amid-heated-us-china-rivalry](https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3366216/tech-race-flashpoint-huang-musk-push-back-ai-guard-rails-amid-heated-us-china-rivalry)
US tech titans including[Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang](https://www.scmp.com/news/us/economy-trade-business/article/3366035/congress-advances-new-bill-give-us-edge-open-source-ai-race-china?module=inline&pgtype=article)and Tesla’s Elon Musk are pressing global powers to curb artificial intelligence regulations, warning that strict guard rails risk suffocating innovation as the US and China compete in an intensifying technological arms race\.
Speaking at a G20 meeting alongside US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on Wednesday, Huang urged policymakers to pursue[AI regulations](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3362160/should-china-aim-lead-making-ai-rules-world?module=inline&pgtype=article)targeting “actual and pragmatic harm” rather than “hypothetical theoretical harm”\.
He argued that excessive regulation and fear could prevent countries from capturing the economic benefits of rapidly advancing AI\.
“The worst outcome is that you don’t take advantage of it, that you are left behind,” the billionaire chip executive said\.
> Countries should create an environment relatively free of regulation in which new technologies were default legal as opposed to default illegal
Elon Musk, TeslaThe high\-profile call comes as Washington moves to ease regulatory hurdles for home\-grown developers, drawing sharp rebukes from Beijing, and as US executives ramp up lobbying against potential bans on[open\-weight AI models](https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3366125/frontier-ai-cost-what-anthropics-fable-51-means-us-china-model-race?module=inline&pgtype=article), framing open technology as vital to maintaining global technological leadership\.
The US and China have proposed an AI safety notification mechanism to address emerging risks, but experts express doubts about its effectiveness due to the absence of technical experts and ongoing geopolitical tensions.
At a Singapore forum, scholars and industry leaders urged the US and China to cooperate on AI safety and risk management, highlighting the need for guardrails amid rapid technological advances and geopolitical tensions.
China dismissed calls by U.S. AI executives to slow AI development as 'fear mongering,' while emphasizing the need for global AI governance and security. The article highlights geopolitical tensions and industry reactions to AI safety concerns.