What David Robinson has said about Artificial intelligence arms race between the United States and China

2 quotes · 1 episode · Oct 7, 2026

David Robinson, Former OpenAI safety-team writer who led system card documentation; Rhodes Scholar, Yale Law graduate and founder of the civil rights nonprofit Upturn, has been quoted on Artificial intelligence arms race between the United States and China 2 times in 1 episode of The Ezra Klein Show, most recently on October 7, 2026. Each quote below is verbatim and links to the moment it was said.

In their words

Robinson distinguishes national-security reasons for dangerous development from merely commercial competition.
“if we need to train these models because there's international balance of power, because Americans won't be safe unless we do, that's one kind of reason to do something dangerous”
The Ezra Klein Show: ‘This Is Nuts.’ An OpenAI Insider Explains Why He Quit. (Oct 7, 2026) · Listen from 54:39
Robinson believes rapid AI change could make U.S.-China cooperation on AI politically plausible.
“I think the changes in what's happening can drive big changes fast in what seems politically plausible”
The Ezra Klein Show: ‘This Is Nuts.’ An OpenAI Insider Explains Why He Quit. (Oct 7, 2026) · Listen from 56:57

‘This Is Nuts.’ An OpenAI Insider Explains Why He Quit.
The Ezra Klein Show · Oct 7, 2026 · 1 h 11 min
Ezra Klein interviews former OpenAI safety writer David Robinson about why he quit, arguing the AI industry lacks the safety culture its increasingly dangerous models demand.