Open AI investor Vinod Khosla claims China poses a greater threat than non-sentient AI in killing humans.

The emergence of AI has sparked a divide between those who view it as beneficial and those who see it as a danger to humanity. While the risks of artificial intelligence are being discussed worldwide, influential industry leaders hold differing opinions. Vinod Khosla, a renowned investor and early supporter of OpenAI, has sparked controversy by suggesting that the real threat lies with China, not AI. Khosla, who invested $50 million in OpenAI through his venture capital firm Khosla Ventures in 2019, shared his perspective at Fortune’s Brainstorm AI conference. Another prominent investor in OpenAI, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has since withdrawn his support. Click here to learn more about Khosla’s statements.

China is a real threat?

According to 68-year-old billionaire Vinod Khosla’s statement to Fortune, “judgments focus on the wrong risks. By far the orders of magnitude, bigger risk to worry about is China, non-sentient AI will kill us. He added that the existential risk of sentient AI could be as threatening as an asteroid impact To the country. Khosla emphasized the practical risks of AI. He cited concerns such as China using advanced AI to manipulate elections through targeted action using multiple influence bots. He said the economic race over the next 25 years will be won by the country that dominates the AI race.

According to a report by Business Insider, during a recent appearance on the “Cerebral Valley Podcast,” Khosla expressed his belief that people tend to be too pessimistic about artificial intelligence. He warned that people are only focusing on the dystopian side of AI, ignoring all the benefits it offers.

The entrepreneur, who co-founded Sun Microsystems four decades ago, viewed the recent turmoil at OpenAI over the ouster and subsequent reinstatement of CEO Sam Altman as evidence of misguided concerns about artificial intelligence. Khosla criticized the former board members who orchestrated Altman’s temporary ouster, attributing it to faulty decision-making rather than sound governance. He believes that OpenAI is now in a stronger position after the episode.

Vinod Khosla’s stance highlights the growing divide in the perception of artificial intelligence risks. It shows that we need to focus on immediate geopolitical challenges rather than hypothetical existential threats. As the discussion progresses, the view of the effects of artificial intelligence on society and global competition will develop with different views in different parts of the world.