China’s Xi calls on nations to work together to address AI issues, but he says nothing about internet regulations.
China (AP) In light of China’s strict regulations on free speech on the internet, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated on Wednesday that nations should work together to address any risks related to artificial intelligence.
China has simultaneously optimized the economic advantages of the internet and the propaganda value of social media for the authoritarian goal of the ruling Communist Party.
At the World Internet Conference Summit in Wuzhen, in the eastern city, Xi gave a taped speech.
Rather than advocating for conflict, he argued for shared security in cyberspace. He voiced his opposition to “cyberspace hegemony” and said that China would cooperate with other nations to handle the challenges posed by the advancement of artificial intelligence.
With the adoption of the Global AI Governance Initiative, a plan unveiled by the Chinese government last month advocating for an open and equitable environment for AI development, China is prepared to “promote the safe development of AI,” he declared.
Reiterating Xi’s statements at the conference, Li Shulei, the director of the Communist Party’s propaganda department, stated that China would collaborate with foreign nations to “improve the safety, reliability, controllability, and fairness of artificial intelligence technology.”
The Chinese government initially organized the conference as an annual affair in 2014 to talk about internet development. China allows access to most foreign news and social media platforms within the Wuzhen area during the conference but prohibits them beyond.
In June, before Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing, Chinese state-sponsored hackers managed to get past Microsoft’s cloud-based security and compromise the email accounts of officials at many U.S. organizations that deal with China.
A limited number of people at an unidentified number of U.S. agencies had their email accounts accessible by the surgical, targeted espionage, which was uncovered by the State Department in mid-June, according to U.S. officials. They added that none of the stolen data or compromised systems were classified.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was among the compromised officials; her organization enforced export restrictions that have hurt numerous Chinese businesses.
Five Chinese nationals were prosecuted by the Justice Department in September 2020 for hacking into over 100 US and international businesses and organizations, including video game and social media corporations, educational institutions, and telecom providers.