China plans to require a security review of generative artificial intelligence (AI) services before they are allowed to operate, casting uncertainty over ChatGPT-like bots unveiled by the country’s largest tech companies including Baidu Inc (百度).
Providers of services must ensure content is accurate and respects intellectual property, and neither discriminates nor endangers security, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in draft guidelines seeking public feedback.
AI operators must also clearly label AI-generated content, the country’s Internet overseer said in a statement posted on its Web site.
Photo: AP
The CAC’s requirements add to Beijing’s growing attempts to regulate the explosive growth of generative AI since OpenAI’s ChatGPT fired up the industry in November last year.
Companies from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) to SenseTime Group Inc (商湯科技) and Baidu all aim to build the definitive next-generation AI platform for the world’s largest Internet market.
That mirrors a growing wave of development abroad with Alphabet Inc’s Google and Microsoft Corp among the many tech companies exploring generative AI, which can create content from poetry to art just with simple user prompts.
Alibaba shares gave up much of their initial gains yesterday after the CAC announcement, while SenseTime was down slightly.
Alibaba yesterday described how it planned to build generative AI into its Slack-like work app and Amazon Echo-like smart speakers, before expanding that portfolio to its other services. A day before, SenseTime demonstrated the large AI model SenseNova and a user-facing chatbot called SenseChat.
That followed Baidu’s Ernie bot, which was released for selective testing about a month ago. Shares in the company — considered the current domestic leader — were down 7 percent in Hong Kong.
In addition, the powerful regulator said that AI services must be transparent about the data and algorithms used in training their large-scale models, reinforcing Beijing’s focus on maintaining control over sensitive and valuable information.
“Service providers should provide certain information on data used in AI training, including origin, size and type of data,” the CAC said in its statement. “It also requires AI platforms to share basic algorithms and other technologies used.”
China’s made no secret of its wish to elevate AI at a time the country is locked in a conflict with the US over technology from chips to electric vehicles. But it remains uncertain how the government intends to both galvanize and police the emergent field.
Beijing plans to introduce rules to govern the use of AI across a swath of industries.
In February, Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology officials said the government would push for the safe and controllable application of AI services, which it considers a strategic industry.
Taken together, the rules might be intended to ensure ChatGPT-like services are subservient to the Chinese Communist Party’s rigid ban on controversial or undesirable content online. It could also boost companies such as Baidu and SenseTime by providing clearer ground rules for future services.
CAC yesterday said that content considered deviant from society would be prohibited, without elaborating.
It is unclear how the new regulations would affect AI development. Just about every major tech firm including Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊) is exploring ways to harness its potential.
However, there are concerns over whether Chinese companies can secure reliable access to the high-end chips and technology needed to develop large-scale language models.
SenseTime, for example, is operating under US sanctions that inhibit its access to capital as well as crucial US components, and US President Joe Biden’s administration last year imposed restrictions on the sale of AI accelerator chips to Chinese customers — a critical component in the development of any large-scale generative model.
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