President Xi Jinping led a meeting emphasizing the need for dedicated efforts to safeguard political security and improve the security governance of internet data and artificial intelligence (AI), as reported by the Xinhua News Agency.
Recognizing the rapid advancement of AI and the complexities it poses, President Xi urged officials to remain keenly aware of the challenging circumstances facing national security. He stressed the necessity for China to establish a new pattern of development with a robust security architecture, reflecting concerns that AI could be exploited for sabotage and espionage purposes.
AI pioneers, including the director of the Center for AI Safety, have warned of the potential risks associated with the technology, cautioning that the risk of human extinction should be considered a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.
In a separate development, Tesla CEO Elon Musk joined a group of experts in calling for a temporary halt in the training of large language AI models, similar to the ones utilized by ChatGPT and other chatbots. The collective emphasized the need to ensure that the development of powerful AI systems guarantees positive effects and manageable risks.
Despite China’s usual laissez-faire attitude toward technological advancement, this recent warning highlights the government’s recognition of the escalating dangers associated with AI. Criticism from the West regarding China’s utilization of surveillance tools like facial and voice recognition, as well as monitoring techniques such as walking gait analysis, has further contributed to the concerns surrounding the country’s AI-related ambitions.
As China addresses the challenges and risks associated with AI, the emphasis on enhancing security measures reflects the global significance of this rapidly evolving technology.
