Kevin Rudd warns U.S., China of potential AI security crisis, calls for urgent cooperation
Former Australian PM Kevin Rudd warns that the U.S. and China must cooperate on AI safety to avoid a catastrophic security crisis. He emphasizes the need for shared protocols to manage risks posed by autonomous systems.
Why it matters
It addresses the geopolitical risks of the global AI arms race and the necessity of international regulatory frameworks.
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Thursday (October 8, 2026) warned that the United States and China could find themselves responding to a major artificial intelligence (AI)-related security crisis before establishing adequate safeguards, calling for urgent cooperation between the two powers to prevent emerging technologies from triggering international conflict.
Speaking at an Asia Society India Centre event in Mumbai, organised in collaboration with the Australian Consulate-General, Mr. Rudd expressed concern that political divisions and strategic competition could delay agreements on managing the risks posed by increasingly autonomous AI systems.
"My fear... is are we [are] so paralysed in our politics, domestically and bilaterally, that we are sentencing ourselves to a future where we've got to have a Cuban Missile-type crisis in order to galvanise the political centre in both capitals to move to act," he said.
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