Governments all around the globe are grappling with the issue of how to deal with the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence. (AI). Local governments in China have declared plans to impose an obligatory evaluation of generative AI services before they are made public. The latest AI safety investigations include natural language processing (NLP) models like ChatGPT.
According to a statement on the website of China’s internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China, suppliers of AI services have a responsibility to guarantee that the material is truthful, protects intellectual property (IP), and does not discriminate or jeopardise security.
Reports claim that the planned assessments would compel AI service providers to undertake extensive inspections of their technology and data management practices. This shall be done to verify compliance with security requirements. Companies that fail to pass the inspection may face consequences such as fines and operational limitations. Additionally, all AI-generated content must be clearly labelled as such. According to sources acquainted with the subject matter, the action is part of the Chinese government’s larger push to improve cybersecurity in the country.
These developments came after Baidu, one of China’s major tech giants, introduced its own AI chatbot, “Ernie,” in late March. This chatbot is expected to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The chatbot is powered by Ernie, an AI-powered deep learning model that stands for “enhanced representation through knowledge integration.” In addition to Baidu’s AI chatbot, other Chinese IT behemoths such as Alibaba and SenseTime are racing to develop AI systems comparable to those of Google and Microsoft.
At this point, it is unknown when the proposed security evaluations would be implemented, or what exact conditions businesses must achieve in order to pass them. If the evaluations are implemented, they might provide further problems for both Chinese AI firms such as Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent, as well as their foreign counterparts such as OpenAI/Microsoft and Google that are involved in the Chinese market.
The claims come at a time when the AI sector is under greater scrutiny on all fronts, with an open letter signed by over 1,100 experts, including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, calling for a six-month halt on AI development in order to seek international regulation of the technology.
US Vice President Joe Biden recently warned tech companies about the threats of AI to society, national security, and the economy. Following a data breach on the site that revealed private user data, Italian regulators temporarily blocked ChatGPT. In Canada, OpenAI is under a privacy investigation following claims of stealing personal information.
