The World Internet Conference (WIC) Nishan Dialogue on Digital Civilization opened in Qufu, Jining city, East China's Shandong province, on June 26. [Photo/wicinternet.org]

The World Internet Conference (WIC) Nishan Dialogue on Digital Civilization opened in Qufu, Jining city, East China's Shandong province, on June 26.

The Nishan Dialogue is the first thematic event held by the WIC as an international organization.

Zhuang Rongwen, minister of Cyberspace Administration of China and chair of the WIC, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech.

Lin Wu, secretary of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee and chairman of the Standing Committee of Shandong Provincial People's Congress, and John Hoffman, CEO of Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), attended and addressed the opening ceremony.

Zhou Naixiang, deputy secretary of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee and governor of Shandong province, attended the opening ceremony and gave a speech at the main session.

Zhuang pointed out that artificial intelligence (AI) has promoted the transformation of production, lifestyle and governance, and expanded human civilization progress. 

Shandong will actively advance the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional Chinese culture, so as to make Shandong a highly-developed digitalized province, Lin noted.

Hoffman said that AI is rapidly growing into a powerful force worldwide, with a potential to reshape business and society, adding that only under the constraints of moral principles, can AI truly change the world in a better way.

After the opening ceremony, guests held discussions on such topics as "Building a Secure and Trusted AI", "AI Empowering Industries", and "Where Human Civilizations Go in the AI Era", in a bid to explore the value of history and culture in the digital age, enhance international cultural exchanges and cooperation, open new paths for the development of AI technology, and promote the development and progress of human civilization.

This event is organized by the People's Government of Shandong Province, and co-organized by the Cyberspace Administration of Shandong Province and the Jining Municipal People's Government.

About 400 representatives from governments, enterprises and academia from around the world, as well as international organizations -- such as UNESCO, GSMA, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, the European Committee for Standardization, and Arab Information and Communication Technologies Organization --  are participating in the event both online and on site.