/Tech2h ago

Miles Brundage and Susan Zhang argue against nationality-based restrictions on AI talent, urging a focus on basic security

Story Overview

In a June 20 X thread, Miles Brundage and Susan Zhang push back on proposals to limit AI talent from China, framing nationality-based caps as a distraction from fixing everyday security gaps that could let models or methods slip out through any channel.

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#57

Original post

Miles Brundage@Miles_Brundage#57inTech

@suchenzang @willdepue Hmm I think you’re inferring different proposals/attitudes here than I at least have. My stance is we should fix the basic things Will mentioned first and foremost

Susan Zhang@suchenzang

keeping a nice bamboo ceiling cap on talent here from hypothetical coercion risk is a great foot gun carpet to shove sinophobia under and places that indulge in these theories any differently than any other form of corporate espionage by any other nationality deserve to have talent driven away and back to where they supposedly came from

12:01 AM · Jun 20, 2026 · 738 Views

Policy Risk

Security basics come before talent walls

Brundage stressed that labs should lock down the obvious holes first, pointing to existing reports on exfiltration risks rather than assuming nationality alone predicts problems.

Open Question

Blanket rules risk driving talent elsewhere

Zhang warned that singling out researchers by background could act as cover for broader bias and would likely push skilled people away from US labs without solving the underlying access claims.

Sentiment

Many users dismissed Miles Brundage's premise on fixing core AI issues before talent restrictions as toxic and not genuinely about technical problem-solving.

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Neg

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2 comments with sentiment.

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Miles Brundage@Miles_Brundage

@suchenzang @willdepue (See my second tweet in the thread for many things we can do besides “discriminate against ppl” which I agree would be counterproductive even by the lights of the US competition angle (which is not the only relevant one! I have written on US-China safety collab for example)

Miles Brundage@Miles_Brundage

@suchenzang @willdepue Hmm I think you’re inferring different proposals/attitudes here than I at least have. My stance is we should fix the basic things Will mentioned first and foremost

2h52920

LIKES11

Susan Zhang@suchenzang

@Miles_Brundage @willdepue not personal to you, but if you can't see how the OG post is toxic and not just about technical problem solving then i don't have much left to say

Miles Brundage@Miles_Brundage

2h258110

Susan Zhang@suchenzang

@Miles_Brundage @willdepue i'm intentionally not being generous with interpretation here when chyna is the premise and everything else is secondary

words, and their ordering, matter

Miles Brundage@Miles_Brundage

@suchenzang @willdepue Hmm I think you’re inferring different proposals/attitudes here than I at least have. My stance is we should fix the basic things Will mentioned first and foremost

2h22860