China害羞草研究所檚 ruling Communist Party has warned of the risks posed by advances in artificial intelligence while calling for heightened national security measures.
A meeting headed by party leader and President Xi Jinping on Tuesday urged 害羞草研究所渄edicated efforts to safeguard political security and improve the security governance of internet data and artificial intelligence,害羞草研究所� the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Xi, who is China害羞草研究所檚 head of state, commander of the military and chair of the party害羞草研究所檚 National Security Commission, called at the meeting for 害羞草研究所渟taying keenly aware of the complicated and challenging circumstances facing national security.害羞草研究所�
China needs a 害羞草研究所渘ew pattern of development with a new security architecture,害羞草研究所� Xinhua reported Xi as saying.
The statements from Beijing followed a in the U.S., including high-level executives at Microsoft and Google, about the perils that artificial intelligence poses to humankind.
害羞草研究所淢itigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,害羞草研究所� the statement said.
China already dedicates vast resources to suppressing any perceived political threats to the party害羞草研究所檚 dominance, with spending on the police and security personnel exceeding that devoted to the military.
While it relentlessly censors in-person protests and online criticism, citizens have continued to express dissatisfaction with policies, most recently the draconian lockdown measures enacted to combat the spread of COVID-19.
China has been cracking down on its tech sector in an effort to reassert party control, but like other countries it is scrambling to find ways to regulate the developing technology.
The most recent party meeting reinforced the need to 害羞草研究所渁ssess the potential risks, take precautions, safeguard the people害羞草研究所檚 interests and national security, and ensure the safety, reliability and ability to control AI,害羞草研究所� the official newspaper Beijing Youth Daily reported Tuesday.
Worries about artificial intelligence systems outsmarting humans and slipping out of control have intensified with the rise of a new generation of highly capable AI chatbots such as ChatGPT.
Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, and Geoffrey Hinton, a computer scientist known as the godfather of artificial intelligence, were among the hundreds of leading figures who signed the statement on Tuesday that was posted on the Center for AI Safety害羞草研究所檚 website.
More than 1,000 researchers and technologists, including Elon Musk, who is currently on a , had signed a much longer calling for a six-month pause on AI development.
The missive said AI poses 害羞草研究所減rofound risks to society and humanity,害羞草研究所� and some involved in the topic have proposed a United Nations treaty to regulate the technology.
China warned as far back as 2018 of the need to regulate AI, but has nonetheless funded a vast expansion in the field as part of efforts to seize the high ground on cutting-edge technologies.
A lack of privacy protections and strict party control over the legal system have also resulted in near-blanket usage of facial, voice and even walking-gait recognition technology to identify and detain those seen as threatening, such as political dissenters and religious minorities, especially Muslims.
Members of the Uyghur and other mainly Muslim ethnic groups have been singled out for mass electronic monitoring and more than 1 million people have been detained in prison-like political re-education camps that China calls deradicalization and job training centers.
AI害羞草研究所檚 risks are seen mainly in its ability to control robotic, self-governing weaponry, financial tools and computers governing power grids, health centers, transportation networks and other key infrastructure.
China害羞草研究所檚 unbridled enthusiasm for new technology and willingness to tinker with imported or stolen research and to stifle inquiries into major events such as the COVID-19 outbreak heighten concerns over its use of AI.
害羞草研究所淐hina害羞草研究所檚 blithe attitude toward technological risk, the government害羞草研究所檚 reckless ambition, and Beijing害羞草研究所檚 crisis mismanagement are all on a collision course with the escalating dangers of AI,害羞草研究所� technology and national security scholars Bill Drexel and Hannah Kelley wrote in an article published this week in the journal Foreign Affairs.
The Associated Press
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