The Artificial Intelligence (AI) arms race is becoming the biggest arms race of our time and this race is leading to problems in AI safety. International cooperation is needed to tackle the threats...Show moreThe Artificial Intelligence (AI) arms race is becoming the biggest arms race of our time and this race is leading to problems in AI safety. International cooperation is needed to tackle the threats. Game theory can contribute to explaining competition and cooperation in international relations. The Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) has been used to study arms race dynamics before. However, there is a gap in applying the PD to the AI arms race. This thesis aims to study whether the PD applies to the AI arms race, as it helps to understand the characteristics of this arms race which could be useful for accomplishing cooperation. Qualitative research is conducted using ATLAS.ti 8 to identify the features of PD games. These features are used as codes to analyse national AI strategies and academic articles on the AI arms race. The results show that the AI arms race PD model is constructed of a multiplicity of (constantly changing) actors and choices. The game is asymmetric, asynchronous and the iteration is indefinite. Although the PD model is applicable to the AI arms race, these uncertainties and characteristics of the AI arms race result in a game which is likely to exceed game theory. Even though the model turned out too complex for game theory to work with, this thesis contributes to a better understanding of the playfield of the AI arms race.Show less
