China: AI governance committee releases ethical guidelines to govern AI

China: AI governance committee releases ethical guidelines to govern AI

Beijing, Oct. 6, 2021

China’s AI governance committee has published the country’s first ethical guidelines for governing AI.

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3150789/chinese-ai-gets-ethical-guidelines-first-time-aligning-beijings-goal

The guidelines from the committee, established in February 2019 under the Ministry of Science and Technology, focus on user rights and risk avoidance, and are in line with Beijing’s efforts to curb the influence of Big Tech.

The document, titled „New Generation Artificial Intelligence Ethics Specifications,“ is primarily intended to ensure that AI is always controlled by humans.

The guidelines include five other basic principles for AI systems: controllable and trustworthy, improving human welfare, promoting fairness and justice, protecting privacy and security, and promoting ethical competence.

They prohibit AI from engaging in illegal activities and compromising national security, public safety, or production safety.

The guidelines were established with the aim of helping China’s AI developers make major breakthroughs by 2025 and become a global leader by 2030.