曾任 Google DeepMind 全球公共政策主管的 Verity Harding 指出，将人工智能的发展框架定性为「军备竞赛」是极其危险的。起初，AI 研究根植于国际合作，但随后转变为美中两大超级大国之间的对立，以及 Anthropic 和 OpenAI 等实验室之间的商业竞争，使得军备竞赛成为了当前的核心隐喻。

这种将 AI 视为致命武器的视角阻碍了确保技术安全和利益共享所需的国际合作。对于进口该技术的中小国家而言，屈从于这种军备竞赛框架意味著被迫在超级大国之间选边站队，甚至违背自身利益；而美国等国家的民族主义言论和出口管制正是这一趋势恶化的体现。

Harding 主张采取国际主义方法，并提议建立一个由加拿大、英国和印度等国组成的「中等强国联盟」，以整合资源并打破双重对立的格局。她警告说，若任由竞赛叙事主导，未来将走向政府过度集权控制，并因失去在医疗和粮食安全等领域的合作机会而降低系统的安全性与益处。

Verity Harding, former head of global public policy at Google DeepMind, argues that framing artificial intelligence development as an "arms race" is extremely dangerous. While AI research was initially rooted in international cooperation, it has shifted into a geopolitical rivalry between the US and China, alongside commercial competition between labs like Anthropic and OpenAI, making the arms race the dominant metaphor of the day.

Casting AI as a lethal weapon obstructs the international cooperation required to ensure technology safety and distribute its benefits equitably. For smaller nations importing this technology, conceding to this arms race framing forces them to align with one superpower or another against their own interests, a trend evidenced by nationalist rhetoric and export controls in the US.

Harding advocates for an internationalist approach and proposes a "middle powers coalition" involving countries like Canada, the UK, and India to pool resources and counter the binary superpower narrative. She warns that continuing down the path of this arms race narrative will lead to centralized government control and less safe systems due to the loss of collaborative opportunities in critical areas like healthcare and food security.