OpenAI Inc. CEO Sam Altman said China should play an important role in shaping the artificial intelligence barriers needed to secure transformative new systems. .
“With the emergence of increasingly powerful AI systems, the risk for global collaboration has never been higher,” said Altman, whose company started the AI craze in China with the launch of ChatGPT last year, spoke at a conference in Beijing via video link on Saturday.
In both China and Silicon Valley, talent and investments are flowing into AI, a strategic area that will help define the deepening technological rivalry between the world’s two largest economies. Advances in emerging technology also highlight tensions in how governments are seeking to regulate the sector, an issue that Chinese President Xi Jinping has said requires close scrutiny. government to reduce national security risks.
“China has some of the best AI talent in the world and, fundamentally, due to the difficulties in solving the alignment for advanced AI systems, this requires the best minds from around the world,” Altman told attendees of the China-hosted event. Beijing Academy of Artificial intelligence.
Altman’s speech at the Beijing conference itself was notable because the academy has strongly positioned itself in the field of AI in China. The Chinese non-profit organization, supported by the country’s Ministry of Science and Technology and Beijing’s local government, has been selected by Microsoft Corporation President Brad Smith as one of the three leaders in innovation. new AI.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT isn’t currently available in China, where longstanding data and censorship regulations have shut down services from Western tech giants like Alphabet Inc’s Google. and Facebook of Meta Platforms Inc. Experts have said that complex data and algorithmic laws will make it similarly difficult for Western companies to break into AI in the country.
China’s tech watchdog has signaled in draft guidelines that stipulate that the responsibility for algorithmic and content requirements in the country could largely rest with platform operators. The State Council said in June that it was planning to discuss AI-related legislation later this year.
Altman said on Saturday that OpenAI planned to open-source more models in the future, as part of an effort to promote the safety of AI, without specifying a specific timeframe or model.
The tech entrepreneur’s Beijing speech is part of the Asia leg of his global goodwill tour promoting AI governance. While in London at the end of May, Altman clashed with European Union regulators after saying that OpenAI could withdraw from the region if the proposed AI law was enacted that would hold companies accountable. responsibility for how they use the system.
