AI's ethical governance emphasized

Artificial intelligence presents not only enormous opportunities for humanity but also unpredictable risks and challenges, Chinese officials said on Friday, as they emphasized the need of rules and ethical standards to ensure that AI does not pose a threat to humanity.

At an event hosted by the China Public Diplomacy Association on Friday, Chinese officials said that the Global AI Governance Initiative proposed by China has provided constructive solutions to the widely concerned issues of AI development, security and governance.

Gao Lin, a senior official with the Cyberspace Administration of China, said that AI development should be human-centric, ensuring that it consistently progresses in a direction beneficial to human civilization.

He said, for example, AI technology can be used to address global issues such as sustainable development, climate change and biodiversity conservation.

Furthermore, Gao emphasized that AI development must respect sovereignty, noting that when providing AI products and services to other countries, strict adherence to their respective laws is essential.

He expressed opposition to the manipulation of public opinion, dissemination of false information, and interference with the internal political and social systems of other countries by using AI technology.

He also highlighted the significance to collectively preventing and combating the malicious misuse of AI technology by terrorists, extremist forces and transnational criminal organizations.

Liu Bochao, a senior official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that AI is a global challenge requiring broad participation from countries working together.

Liu stressed that China's efforts to enhance AI's ethical governance, including ongoing work in institutional design, such as the establishment of the ministry's technology ethics committee and the expert committee on technology ethics in the fields of industry and information technology.

These efforts aim to strengthen the management of AI in areas including brain-machine interfaces, autonomous driving, the metaverse and big data robots, he said.

Additionally, he said that China is committed to strengthening international cooperation on AI, fostering consensus on the development and governance of the AI industry.