GoKawiilRep. Ro Khanna presses US intelligence and Chinese AI firms on catastrophic risk plans
Rep. Ro Khanna, top Democrat on the House Select Committee on China, sent letters to Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and to DeepSeek, Alibaba, and Moonshot AI. He asked ODNI to assess US readiness for an AI system losing control, similar to an OpenAI agent incident involving Hugging Face, and to evaluate China's approach to catastrophic AI risk. He also asked the three Chinese companies for documentation on their pursuit of 'superintelligence,' recursive self-improvement, and any safety safeguards.
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Khanna frames the request as a step toward a possible US-China treaty on AI safety, suggesting that even amid broader rivalry, both nations share an interest in preventing loss of control over advanced AI systems. The inquiry could inform how Congress and the White House approach future negotiations with China, though getting both governments and companies to cooperate on such sensitive capabilities may prove difficult. As a possible presidential contender, Khanna's move also signals an effort to position himself as a voice on AI governance policy.
- Khanna asked ODNI to assess US preparedness for AI systems losing control and to evaluate China's catastrophic risk oversight.
- Letters were also sent to DeepSeek, Alibaba, and Moonshot AI seeking details on superintelligence research and safety safeguards.
- Khanna says the goal is to lay groundwork for a possible US-China agreement on AI risk, despite broader tensions between the countries.
Source: theverge.com — Lauren Feiner, 2026-09-29
Published there as: “Will Chinese AI companies slow down? A top House Democrat wants answers”
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