Global Collaboration is Key for AI Development, Asserts Chinese Leader
The progress and domination of artificial intelligence (AI) should not be the monopoly of a single nation, emphasized the Chinese President. He strongly advocated for global cooperation in the evolution of AI during an influential gathering in Shanghai.
During his keynote speech at the inaugural ceremony of a major AI conference, the President stressed the significance of making AI technology people-centric.
Emerging AI Trends and Concerns
This conference serves as a platform to exhibit the state-of-the-art technology that the president believes will soon compete with the United States. AI innovations from China are gradually catching up with the top-tier technologies from the US, winning over global users with their affordability.
However, the question of how to regulate this burgeoning sector has sparked discussions, given the apprehensions surrounding the application of AI in warfare and its potential misuse by cybercriminals.
Equitable Access to AI for All
In his speech, the President highlighted China's role in promoting equal access to AI for developing countries in order to avoid repetition of historical injustices. He revealed China's intentions to work in collaboration with international entities, including those from Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the BRICS nations, to facilitate AI-related opportunities.
"AI's evolution should not be a one-man show by a single nation, but rather a concert of international collaboration," he stated. He further emphasized that excessive emphasis on national security in the AI domain, or prioritizing one nation's security over others, should be collectively resisted.
AI Should Be Under Human Supervision
In recent times, the US and European Union have enforced restrictions on tech imports from China, citing security concerns, while ongoing disputes between Washington and American AI labs have raised questions about who controls access to top technology.
In a move earlier this year, the US Commerce Department confirmed its restrictions on semiconductor shipments to subsidiaries of Chinese companies located outside China, due to worries about potential loopholes in Washington's export control regime.
At the conference, the President also underscored the necessity of a people-centric approach to AI, with humans in control. "There should be laws and regulations, technological monitoring, early warning, and emergency response systems in place...to ensure AI is always under human control," he stated.
AI: A Strategic Pillar for China
AI has emerged as a strategic cornerstone of China's industrial policy, propelled by state investment with the aim of creating a domestic ecosystem, ranging from chip production to consumer usage.
Consumption of "tokens" - the industry measure of AI usage - in China has seen a thousandfold increase over the last two years, as per official statements. Despite trailing the US in access to the most advanced semiconductors, China has an advantage in powering the massive data centers that run on AI chips.
A typical data center can consume as much electricity as 100,000 households, while next-generation "hyperscale" facilities can use as much power as two million homes, as per the International Energy Agency (IEA).
China's access to a plentiful supply of inexpensive electricity puts it in a prime position to meet such massive energy demands. Presently, China generates more than twice the electricity produced by the US, a lead that is expected to increase with aggressive state-led investment in the country's energy grid.
The progress and domination of artificial intelligence (AI) should not be the monopoly of a single nation, emphasized the Chinese President. He strongly advocated for global cooperation in the evolution of AI during an influential gathering in Shanghai.
During his keynote speech at the inaugural ceremony of a major AI conference, the President stressed the significance of making AI technology people-centric.
Emerging AI Trends and Concerns
This conference serves as a platform to exhibit the state-of-the-art technology that the president believes will soon compete with the United States. AI innovations from China are gradually catching up with the top-tier technologies from the US, winning over global users with their affordability.
However, the question of how to regulate this burgeoning sector has sparked discussions, given the apprehensions surrounding the application of AI in warfare and its potential misuse by cybercriminals.
Equitable Access to AI for All
In his speech, the President highlighted China's role in promoting equal access to AI for developing countries in order to avoid repetition of historical injustices. He revealed China's intentions to work in collaboration with international entities, including those from Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the BRICS nations, to facilitate AI-related opportunities.
"AI's evolution should not be a one-man show by a single nation, but rather a concert of international collaboration," he stated. He further emphasized that excessive emphasis on national security in the AI domain, or prioritizing one nation's security over others, should be collectively resisted.
AI Should Be Under Human Supervision
In recent times, the US and European Union have enforced restrictions on tech imports from China, citing security concerns, while ongoing disputes between Washington and American AI labs have raised questions about who controls access to top technology.
In a move earlier this year, the US Commerce Department confirmed its restrictions on semiconductor shipments to subsidiaries of Chinese companies located outside China, due to worries about potential loopholes in Washington's export control regime.
At the conference, the President also underscored the necessity of a people-centric approach to AI, with humans in control. "There should be laws and regulations, technological monitoring, early warning, and emergency response systems in place...to ensure AI is always under human control," he stated.
AI: A Strategic Pillar for China
AI has emerged as a strategic cornerstone of China's industrial policy, propelled by state investment with the aim of creating a domestic ecosystem, ranging from chip production to consumer usage.
Consumption of "tokens" - the industry measure of AI usage - in China has seen a thousandfold increase over the last two years, as per official statements. Despite trailing the US in access to the most advanced semiconductors, China has an advantage in powering the massive data centers that run on AI chips.
A typical data center can consume as much electricity as 100,000 households, while next-generation "hyperscale" facilities can use as much power as two million homes, as per the International Energy Agency (IEA).
China's access to a plentiful supply of inexpensive electricity puts it in a prime position to meet such massive energy demands. Presently, China generates more than twice the electricity produced by the US, a lead that is expected to increase with aggressive state-led investment in the country's energy grid.