The development of artificial intelligence (AI) has triggered an unprecedented technological revolution across the scientific and technological landscape. Like a double-edged sword, AI offers both opportunities and challenges.
At a recent forum hosted by the China Association for Science and Technology, leading AI experts gathered to discuss how to strengthen safety governance and standardize regulations.
Professor Zhang Ping, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, highlighted the safety and ethical challenges introduced by advancements in generative AI (GenAI). “Issues related to identity fraud, inappropriate speech, violent rhetoric, and illegal activities based on AI-generated content are frequently encountered,” he stated. He cited an example where a financial staff member at a multinational company in Hong Kong was deceived by a fraudster posing as the company’s CFO through AI deepfake technologies, resulting in losses of up to 200 million Hong Kong dollars (approximately $25.8 million).
Similarly, Professor Zhang Jianwei, a foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and an academician of the German National Academy of Engineering Sciences and the Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Hamburg, discussed the immense potential of embodied intelligence in various applications, such as enabling more flexible and precise automation, as well as facilitating elderly care and domestic services.
“After the pandemic, the use of robots to replace humans in certain tasks in virus laboratories represents a highly promising industrial scenario,” he noted. However, he also emphasized the growing significance of ethical concerns, posing the crucial question of how to effectively govern AI.
China has taken swift action to address AI safety and governance. On July 13, 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China, in collaboration with six other departments, jointly released the Interim Administrative Measures for GenAI Services. As the country’s first regulatory document specifically targeting AI-generated content, it provides policy support for the rapidly developing technology.
Technical research is also underway to strengthen global AI safety governance. Guided by principles of innovation and technological benevolence, Professor Zhang Ping’s team is working on building a conceptual framework for artificial general intelligence (AGI). “It focuses on developing superalignment technology to ensure that AI’s outputs, viewpoints, and decisions align with human values,” he explained.
Echoing these sentiments, Professor Zhang Jianwei emphasized the importance of teaching AI morality during its training process. “When training embodied AI, we need to teach it morality, just like educating a child. We provide the AI with moral models and data during its training process. Only after this training can it be deployed,” he said.
The development of AI technology represents a significant transformation for all humanity. As Wan Gang, president of the China Association for Science and Technology, stated in his speech at the opening ceremony of the 2024 World Science and Technology Development Forum, the world should work together to promote the alignment and cooperation of AI-related laws, regulations, and standards, and strengthen the assessment of safety risks such as the credibility, reliability, and controllability of AI.
Reference(s):
AI Ethics and Governance: Enhancing Reliability and Controllability
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