Musk says China detailed plans to regulate AI
by AFP Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) June 5, 2023

Top Chinese officials told Elon Musk about plans to launch new regulations on artificial intelligence on his recent trip to the Asian giant, the tech billionaire said Monday, in his first comments on the two-day visit.

The Twitter owner and Tesla CEO -- one of the world's richest men -- held meetings with senior officials in Beijing and employees in Shanghai last week.

"Something that is worth noting is that on my recent trip to China, with the senior leadership there, we had, I think, some very productive discussions on artificial intelligence risks, and the need for some oversight or regulation," Musk said.

"And my understanding from those conversations is that China will be initiating AI regulation in China."

Musk, whose extensive interests in China have long raised eyebrows in Washington, spoke about the exchange in a livestreamed Twitter discussion with Democratic presidential hopeful and vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert Kennedy Jr, the nephew of John F. Kennedy.

Musk did not tweet while in China and Tesla has not released readouts of Musk's meeting with officials.

But official Chinese channels said he lavished praise on the country, including for its "vitality and promise," and expressed "full confidence in the China market."

A flurry of Chinese companies have been rushing to develop AI services that can mimic human speech since San Francisco-based OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November.

But rapid advancements have stoked global alarm over the technology's potential for disinformation and misuse.

Musk didn't elaborate on his discussions in China but was likely referring to a sweeping draft law requiring new AI products to undergo a security assessment before release and a process ensuring that they reflect "core socialist values."

The "Administrative Measures for Generative Artificial Intelligence Services" edict bans content promoting "terrorist or extremist propaganda," "ethnic hatred" or "other content that may disrupt economic and social order."

Under Beijing's highly centralized political system, the measures are almost certain to become law.

Musk has caused controversy by suggesting the self-ruled island of Taiwan should become part of China -- a stance that was welcomed by Chinese officials but which deeply angered Taipei.

The 51-year-old South African native described his meetings in China as "very promising."

"I pointed out that if there is a digital super intelligence that is overwhelmingly powerful, developed in China, it is actually a risk to the sovereignty of the Chinese government," he said.

"And I think they took that concern to heart."

AI boss says 'heavy regulation' now could block progress
Tel Aviv (AFP) June 5, 2023 - OpenAI chief Sam Altman spoke out Monday against immediate "heavy regulation" that could hamper the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, but stressed the need for long-term institutional oversight.

Altman, whose company created the ChatGPT bot, last month told US lawmakers that governmental regulatory intervention was needed to face the risks of AI.

In remarks at Israel's Tel Aviv University, Altman on Monday stressed that his call for oversight was not aimed at "the systems of today".

"I think it would be a mistake to go put heavy regulation on the field right now or to try to slow down the incredible innovation," he said.

Altman recognised the risk of a "superintelligence that is not really well aligned", saying it was "something that we may have to confront in the next decade, which is not very long for the institutions of the world to adapt to something".

He reiterated OpenAI's proposal to form a "global organisation" at the "frontier of computer power and techniques", which "could have a framework to license models, to audit the safety of them, to propose tests that are required to be passed".

"That would be one way to treat this as a very serious risk. We do the same thing for nuclear, for example," Altman said, referring the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The US entrepreneur's Israel visit was part of his global tour to charm national leaders and powerbrokers, as well as to meet with local talent and learn about AI's applications.

ChatGPT burst into the spotlight late last year, demonstrating an ability to generate essays, poems and conversations from the briefest of prompts.

The programme's wild success sparked a gold rush with billions of dollars of investment into the field, but critics raised the alarm over the possibility chatbots could flood the web with disinformation or AI-powered automation could lay waste to entire industries.

In a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog earlier on Monday, Altman noted the "urgency" in "figuring out how we mitigate these very huge risks".

"Everyone wants to figure that out," Altman said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile said that in a phone call, Altman had told him Israel "could become a main global player in the field" of AI.

In a statement, Netanyahu said his country, which already has a thriving hi-tech industry, must "formulate a national policy" on AI.

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