Uzbekistan tests US-China AI rift with bid to join rival tech bloc

Uzbekistan has formally requested to join the U.S.-led Pax Silica AI initiative, according to Ambassador Furqat Sidikov, who said Tashkent notified the U.S. State Department in a diplomatic note last week. The move comes a month after Uzbekistan signed up for China's World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (Waico), as Central Asian nations resist pressure to choose between Washington and Beijing in the AI race.

Advertisement Uzbekistan tests US-China AI rift with bid to join rival tech bloc Tashkent eyes Pax Silica entry as Central Asian nations resist growing pressure to choose between Washington and Beijing in the AI race 4-MIN READ4-MIN Listen The Central Asian country of Uzbekistan has approached the United States about joining Pax Silica https://www.scmp.com/topics/pax-silica?module=inline&pgtype=article , Washington’s flagship initiative on artificial intelligence AI supply chains, a month after signing up for China’s own global grouping, the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization Waico .Uzbekistan’s ambassador to the US, Furqat Sidikov, said Tashkent had formally notified the US State Department in a diplomatic note last week requesting to join the US-led initiative. “Now, the US should confirm. We are ready to sign,” he said in Washington on Thursday. Sidikov added that countries should have a “chance to be part of any kind of international cooperation”, and that drawing red lines around participation would be “counterproductive”. “This gives us opportunities, and it’s good competition,” he said. The move comes as countries face growing pressure to choose between Washington and Beijing https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3364853/china-and-us-push-southeast-asia-over-their-ai-blocs-will-it-test-regions-non-alignment?module=inline&pgtype=article in the race for AI dominance, with both powers promoting competing visions to shape the technology’s standards, supply chains and strategic partnerships.Advertisement Select Voice Select Speed 1.00x