The Workshop on AI Governance and Sustainable Development: for Good and for All was convened in Hong Kong during the World Internet Conference (WIC) Asia-Pacific Summit on April 14, bringing together representatives of the WIC Specialized Committee on AI (SC on AI), partner think tanks, and leading experts and scholars in AI governance. 

The workshop focused on advancing the recommendations outlined in the report on Governing AI for Good and for All—Empowering Global Sustainable Development, which was officially released at the summit.

Notable speakers included Zeng Yi, co-chair and co-lead of the AI Safety and Governance Program, WIC SC on AI, and professor at Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Schahram Dustdar, co-chair of WIC SC on AI, member of Academia Europaea, and professor at TU Wien, Austria; Li Yuhang, advisor of WIC SC on AI, foreign member of Engineering Academy of Ukraine, and chairman of Cloud Security Alliance Greater China Region; Hou Shengli, vice-chair of WIC SC on AI and executive vice-president and CTO of Cisco Greater China; Wang Wei, vice-chair of WIC SC on AI, COO of Weibo, CEO of Sina Mobile, and dean of Sina AI Media Research Institute; Chen Yuxiang, Distinguished Engineer from IBM; Serge Stinckwich, head of research at United Nations University Institute in Macau; Yao Xin, vice-president of Lingnan University of Hong Kong; Zhang Jiji, associate dean (research) of Faculty of Arts and professor in the Department of Philosophy, the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Helen Meng, Patrick Huen Wing Ming Chair Professor of Systems Engineering & Engineering Management, the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Hao Yi, executive vice-president of Nokia Shanghai Bell; and Li Zhihui, head of China Innovation Research, Nomura Research Institute.

Seán ó héigeartaigh, co-lead of the AI Safety and Governance Program of WIC SC on AI and programme director of Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, delivered an online speech.

Participants engaged in in-depth discussions on a wide range of topics, including AI and digital infrastructure, technological innovation, talent cultivation, open ecosystems, energy consumption, cultural preservation and exchanges, education and training, safety and security, and international cooperation mechanisms. They shared insights and proposals on how inclusive and equitable AI governance can contribute to global sustainable development, based on recommendations made in the report.

Participants at the meeting highlighted the importance of strengthening international collaboration in AI governance in speeding up progress toward sustainable development goals. They expressed hope that the WIC SC on AI would continue to deepen international exchanges and cooperation in the field of AI, to ensure that the benefits of AI technologies are shared by all of humanity.

Members of the WIC SC on AI and participants at the meeting also expressed keen interest in contributing to the next phase of the committee’s AI Safety and Governance Program. They said they look forward to fostering expert collaboration and developing solutions to major and emerging global issues of shared concern under the program.