The World Internet Conference (WIC) established an artificial intelligence (AI) working group on Wednesday in a bid to promote safe and reliable development of the industry and face up to common global challenges. The group is currently working on a seminal industry report on generative AI, which will be unveiled at the upcoming WIC Wuzhen summit.

A kick-off meeting of the World Internet Conference Working Group on Artificial Intelligence was held in Beijing on Aug 30, 2023. [Photo/wicinternet.org]

The kick-off meeting of the working group was held in Beijing on Aug 30, which was attended by nearly 40 group members, all scholars and experts in the field of AI. The Secretariat of the WIC gave a briefing on the group’s work plan and experts from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology elaborated on the framework of the industry report at the meeting.

While AI has become a strategic technology to lead a new round of technological revolution and promote global economic growth, there is also an urgent need to build international consensus on the industry’s coordinated development and governance.

The WIC, as an emerging international organization in the digital sector, is committed to establishing a platform for the extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits of global internet. In late June, the WIC held the Nishan Dialogue on Digital Civilization themed on "The Age of AI: Building a Digital World of Exchanges, Mutual Learning and Inclusiveness", in Nishan, Qufu, East China’s Shandong province. As one of the objectives of the Nishan Dialogue, the working group was inaugurated at the meeting to facilitate exchanges and pool wisdom. A special committee will be established at a later stage to create an innovative environment for the global development of AI.

At the meeting, experts and scholars all agreed that generative AI such as ChatGPT is bringing profound changes to economy and society. They believed that the establishment of the working group came at an apt moment, and that it will play a vital role in gathering the strength of the industry to promote safe and reliable development of AI, and in jointly dealing with challenges and risks. They also expressed hope that the working group will fully gather industry consensus and draft a high-quality industry report based on its comprehensive framework.

Next, the WIC will work on the report based on suggestions of different parties and release it at the 2023 WIC Wuzhen Summit. The WIC welcomes valuable ideas from all parties, and is committed to establishing a platform for international exchanges and actively promoting the development of a responsible AI.