Transnational AI Ethics and Singapore’s Position in International Ethical Fragmentation

Timeline

Status: In-progress

Description

Every country, company and academic talks about the pressing need for “AI safety” but nobody really pauses to consider what AI safety truly looks like. This paper examines official publications on AI safety from three countries (regions): the USA, China and the EU, to show that the international dialogue on AI safety is going nowhere because the major powers each have a conflicting view of what AI safety means. American and Chinese visions of safe AI are increasingly mutually exclusive, and the EU value-driven version risks alienating both. Yet, AI safety is a whole of humanity problem that requires cross-border cooperation to succeed. In the search for a potential new way forward, we turn our attention towards Singapore, the small island nation aspiring to be “a bridge of East and West.” Can its experience of being a “friend to all” help the world reach consensus on AI safety? Or is the conflict already irreconcilable?

Team

Members

Celine Yang is a current student in the Applied Ethics and Policy Master's program at Duke focusing on tech ethics and governance.