China adopts new directions governing the development of artificial intelligence

A new set of broad economic development guidelines adopted by Chinese leaders provides for the establishment of safeguards for artificial intelligence while encouraging its deployment in various industrial sectors, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued a series of guidelines "aimed at accelerating the development of new and high-quality productive forces," Xinhua said.

The guidelines “define 19 key measures in five areas,” Xinhua said, including “advancing scientific and technological innovation” and “deepening the integration of scientific and industrial innovation.” Among these guidelines is the full implementation of China's "AI Plus" initiative, aimed at transforming industrial sectors with new technology through a broad expansion of its use throughout the economy. They also highlight the need to “establish technology monitoring, early risk warning and emergency response systems to ensure that AI is safe, reliable and controllable,” according to Xinhua.

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Competition with the United States

Chinese President Xi Jinping said in July that AI must remain “always under human control”, calling for “laws and regulations, technological monitoring, early warning and emergency response systems”. US President Donald Trump, who sees this technology as a key area of ​​competition with China, has instead advocated more limited government regulation. The big American bosses of the sector signed a code of good conduct at the White House at the end of September that Donald Trump described as “morally binding”.

China already has a complex and evolving set of rules on the use of AI, including by children. Since July, virtual companions have been regulated to limit emotional dependence: no simulated romantic relationship with a minor, reminder to take a break after two hours of exchanges, ban on cloning a real person without their consent.