China Direct

Picking the Rose, Leaving the Thorn: Why China’s AI Regulations Are Worth Careful Examination

China’s artificial intelligence (AI) regulations reflect Xi Jinping’s attempt at authoritarian and patriarchal social control — but also offer meaningful protections against a precarious technology. As the U.S.-China “tech war” wages on, the United States should formulate its own AI laws. Otherwise, it risks ceding some regulatory leadership to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Executive Summary

• The Chinese government in recent years has proven adept at formulating and implementing AI regulations — which the United States notably has not. AI regulations should be integrated into U.S. thinking about technology competition in the 21st century.
• This paper examines two of China’s pioneering regulatory documents: one that addresses deepfakes (the Provisions on the Administration of Deep Synthesis Internet Information Services) and one that addresses algorithmic management (Provisions on the Management of Algorithmic Recommendations in Internet Information Services). They invoke an adherence to the “correct political direction” as devised by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership — but also outline prudent and enforceable AI regulations.
• Among Xi Jinping’s many troublingly repressive tendencies is his attempt to achieve patriarchal control over the moral development of Chinese citizens — and, more specifically, China’s technology companies and the people who run them. China has many practical reasons to regulate AI. But one reason the government has implemented the precise language present in its regulations — centered on ensuring that AI enhances, not threatens, CCP rule — is Xi Jinping’s obsession with making sure no alternate center of power develops, in part by ensuring that a culture of misogyny thrives.
• However, even though China’s laws are embedded in an authoritarian and patriarchal governance structure, many of the provisions, such as preventing the circulation of deepfakes, are not inherently authoritarian. Aspects of China’s regulations could therefore potentially be tested and applied in liberal democratic societies.
• So far, there is little evidence that the U.S. government has a strong appetite for developing concrete AI regulations. Among U.S. firms, the rush to compete (the “AI arms race”) is likely to further stifle already stalled efforts to agree on AI ethics and standards.
• The Chinese government, free from the burden of compromise, can more swiftly and secretly resolve its internal differences and regulate AI in ways that reflect Xi Jinping’s conception of right and wrong.
• This paper argues that as the United States engages in an accelerating technology competition with China, it should comparably compete on effectively regulating AI.

 

To read this article please click here.

Our thanks to Johanna Costigan of the Asia Society for kindly sharing these insights.

China's Tech Pivot (II): STEM Talent Shortage Stymies Core Innovation?

"Now that China’s tech pivot to enhance the real economy and to master foundational technologies is under way, standing in the way of that pivot is a talent bottleneck. Yet, despite having the world’s most STEM graduates, China surprisingly suffers from talent shortages in areas key to the pivot..."

To read the second part of the Macro Polo team's tech commentary please follow the link here.

Our grateful thanks to the experts at Macro Polo for sharing their expertise and insights into a country that is reshaping the world.

Microsoft’s Xiaoice AI ready for smart device integration

 

CBI member, Microsoft has announced that its first-generation AI framework, that was developed in China in Beijing’s Haidian district, will be made available to other companies for incorporation in smart devices.

Microsoft’s Avatar Framework has been under development by the global technology giant’s team in Beijing for some years now, and first attracted netizen’s attention after the company launched Xiaoice – an AI-driven chatting robot – in 2014.

Since her launch, Xiaoice has already been “talking” with more than 100 million users in China, has published two collections of poetry, composed and released dozens of songs, and held a painting exhibition.

Xiaoice has played a central role in Microsoft’s brand outreach in China in recent years, and her endeavours have helped the company accumulate more than 5 million followers on Weibo, as Microsoft continues to experiment with how AI can incorporate emotional intelligence characteristics, to allow robots, such as Xiaoice, to serve as a companion for people in old age care and upgrade other traditional sectors.

Li Di, Head of AI Development at Microsoft’s Search Technology Centre, said: “[Microsoft] wants to build a platform to empower others to improve their AI capabilities. […] The Avatar Framework Kit can empower other companies to quickly have multiple AI capabilities on their products, such as functioning AI voice-activated control [systems] for home appliances or smartphones, [providing] chatbots to accompany consumers shopping online, singing songs, drawing pictures or designing clothing patterns.”

Over the past year, Xiaoice has already been functioning as a voice-activated virtual assistant in 450 million units of third-party smart hardware, including smartphones and smart speakers, through the company’s partnership with fellow CBI member, Huawei and Xiaomi.

Microsoft announced last week, that Xiaoice will soon be present in the smartphones of major Chinese handset makers, Vivo and Oppo, on the WeChat platform of Tencent, and the news section of Beijing Bytedance Technology.

 

 

University of Nottingham launches machine learning for antibiotic resistance study in China

 

 

CBI member, The University of Nottingham has launched a new study surrounding the usage of machine learning to fight antibiotic resistance in farmed chickens in China.

Titled, ‘FARMWATCH’, the UK-led study aims to improve the health of farmed chickens in China and reduce the risk of disease and antibiotics transference to human populations, by using machine learning to find new ways to identify and pinpoint disease in poultry farms. If successful, farmers would begin to be able to rear chickens with a reduced need for antibiotics, lowering the risk of antibiotic resistance being transferred to consumers.

The £1.5m project is a partnership between researchers from the University of Nottingham’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Science and the China National Centre for Food Safety Risk Assessment. Funded by Innovate UK and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), the researchers are also collaborating with commercial partners, Nimrod Veterinary Products in the UK and New Hope Liuhe in China. 

Dr Tania Dottorini, Assistant Professor in Bioinformatics at The University of Nottingham, said: “This is a hugely important project that has the potential to transform the ways farm animals are treated and looked after. It also has significant impact on the heath of consumers of poultry products, with future ramifications to other farmed animals. […] For the first time we are using large-scale collection of data, statistical modelling and data mining powered by machine learning and cloud computing to find answers to some big problems faced by the farming industry. This project will contribute to sustainable development in China through improved health and well-being of vulnerable populations. We can then apply these learnings to the UK as well.” 

The researchers in Nottingham will be working with colleagues in China to take thousands of samples from the animals, humans and environment of nine farms, in three Chinese provinces over three years. This complex ‘big’ data will be analysed for new diagnostic biomarkers that will predict and detect bacterial infection, insurgence of ABR, and transfer to humans. This data will then allow early intervention and treatment, reducing spread and the need for antibiotics. 

Siemens opens its first AI Lab in Beijing

 

CBI member, Siemens opened its first artificial intelligence lab outside of Germany in Beijing last Wednesday. The company’s first industrial AI hub in the Asia Pacific region, the lab has been opened to pioneer research into applicable solutions to help Chinese clients counter faltering industrial output across the Mainland.

The lab will house around 50 data scientists, but will be connected to around 800 Siemens researchers and engineers around the globe who will be available virtually to offer applied AI solutions to Chinese clients.

Dr Roland Busch, chief operating officer and chief technical officer at Siemens said, “Artificial Intelligence is a core technology for a successful digital transformation and offers tremendous opportunities for all industries. [Siemens] are excited to work with Chinese customers on their most urgent topics to make production more efficient and raise the availability of systems like machines or trains.”

The opening of the Beijing AI lab was paired with an announcement made by Siemens in Chengdu, that the company planned to open an additional R&D facility within the city, that would partner the Beijing facility by integrating cloud computing into Siemens’ AI solutions service provision.

The Chengdu R&D centre, schedule to open this coming Wednesday, will partner the Beijing lab and help industrial customers digitise their manufacturing processes and integrate cloud computing processes, such as Siemens MindSphere digital platform, into Alibaba’s cloud computing operations for managing industrial output.

Speaking at the event, Zhu Xiaoxun, executive vice president of Siemens China said, “Chinese business clients have great expectations of AI, and are willing to believe it could solve all the problems that they face. [Siemens’ new lab in Chengdu] will be able to help better inform clients about the role of AI in solving specific problems and the kinds of data [factory owners] need to collect to utilise AI to bring about a complete solution [to support their industrial operations].”