The president of China, Xi Jinping, has urged this Friday to implement legal frameworks and supervision mechanisms that articulate a global governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI), with the aim of reinforcing its security, preventing abuses, and consolidating a "safe and controllable" technology that, according to Beijing, must be an "important engine for shared prosperity and common security."
"In China's opinion, all countries should adopt a people-centered approach and develop AI for positive purposes and for the common good," the leader of the Asian giant pointed out during a conference dedicated to AI held in the city of Shanghai.
In this line, he has demanded "to ensure that AI is an important engine for shared prosperity and common security." "We must join forces to build a fair and equitable system of global governance of AI," the leader insisted, appealing for coordinated action among countries.
Xi has positioned the "principle of openness and mutual benefit" as a central axis, emphasizing that AI will be "an engine of global economic growth and an accelerator of change." Therefore, he has called for "promoting open source, openness, collaboration, and exchange," so that a more cooperative technological ecosystem is fostered.
With this approach, the Chinese president has described a scenario in which technological innovation, industrial development, and the implementation of AI solutions in multiple areas are facilitated, relying in a "coordinated manner, on the transformation and modernization of traditional industries, the promotion and growth of emerging industries, and future-oriented planning for the industries of the future."
As a second pillar, Xi has defended a "safe and controllable" AI that functions as a reliable tool for humanity. "We must take seriously the various types of inherent and secondary risks that AI may provoke. We must establish laws and regulations, as well as technological supervision systems, early warning, and emergency response, in order to reinforce security, prevent abuses and malicious use, and ensure that AI is always under human control," he has stated, also warning that the concept of "national security" should not become a brake on this governance.
At the same time, he has emphasized that the global regulatory system must be inclusive and promote mutual learning among different "civilizations." "The development of AI and its application must not erode or undermine the diversity of the civilizations of the world nor the uniqueness of the cultures of different countries," he stated, before adding that this technology must respect the values shared by humanity and that it is necessary to "care for the garden of civilizations with great care to ensure that the beauty of each one is appreciated and shared."
Xi has reiterated his call to strengthen global governance of AI within an approach of "true multilateralism" in which the United Nations has a prominent role. "We must improve the harmonization and coordination regarding AI development strategies, governance norms, and technical standards, in order to establish as soon as possible a global governance framework based on consensus that allows this cutting-edge technology to better benefit humanity," he has emphasized.