AI must be harnessed

The four-day 2024 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance opened in Shanghai on Thursday. The conference co-hosted by nine government ministries and agencies in collaboration with the Shanghai municipal government, stands as a premier platform for deliberating on the latest breakthroughs, hurdles, and prospects in the realm of artificial intelligence.

Reflecting the dual intentions of the event — to establish an open, inclusive, and equitable international platform for exchange and cooperation, and to facilitate comprehensive discussions on AI development, security, and governance issues across various sectors and stakeholders — the theme of the conference is “Governing AI for Good and for All”.

This was stressed in his opening speech by Premier Li Qiang, who urged countries to adopt “more open mindsets” and promote international cooperation on AI, saying that “each country has its own advantages in its AI technology, data and market, so we should engage in mutual cooperation and join forces”.

As the dedicated high-level meeting shows, being among the forerunners in global AI development, China is shouldering the responsibility of playing a leadership role in garnering broad participation for discussions aimed at reaching a consensus on AI governance through negotiation. As part of these efforts, it proposed a resolution on AI that was adopted at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday.

As Li said in his speech, AI is “common wealth” that can benefit all on the proviso that it is “safe, reliable and controllable” and the intelligence gap is bridged so that no country is left behind. At the same time, he warned that AI represents a “common challenge” that calls for countries to conduct in-depth discussions to build consensus on an international governance mechanism. A fragmented approach toward AI, and digital technology in general, “is not going to benefit anybody”, he cautioned.

Calls for strengthened global AI governance have been rising since Shanghai hosted the first WAIC in 2018, as the rapid development of AI and its growing ubiquity in daily life have heightened concerns about the challenges and inherent risks associated with the technology, which, while having great capacity to serve the greater good, has the potential to cause great harm. Not to mention that the widening gap in AI technology between the developed countries and developing ones is aggravating the existing divide between the haves and have-nots.

With all this in mind, the WAIC and high-level meeting are public goods that China is providing with the aim of addressing the potential risks associated with AI, exploring its opportunities, and driving AI to empower global economic and social development for the benefit of all humanity.