With advancements in artificial intelligence, specifically generative AI services, technology is rapidly evolving. On April 11th this year, a policy aiming to provide a framework for the further advancement of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) technology was proposed by China’s Cyberspace Administration. This policy, with modifications, is set to be rolled out officially by the end of 2020.
Generative AI is a term used to describe any type of AI that can be used to create new content such as text, images, videos and audio. In the race of developing this AI, the Italian Government has implemented a ban on the usage of ChatGPT, a popular GAI tool, while China has taken the entirely opposite approach.
In March, China’s largest online search engine Baidu launched Ernie Bot, another well-known GAI tool. Instead of banning GAI, China is promoting its development, as the draft policy has suggested, through proposals to measure and monitor how it is being used. This will promote a healthier and better use of the technology, benefitting human beings in the long run.
The same story can be seen over and over with new scientific and technological advances. Inventions such as electricity, the steam engine and the Internet were once thought to be too problematic or revolutionary for society. Thus, GAI is also a blessing come with a set of growing pains, including reported cases of system bugs, improper data usage, and biased accuracy from its chatbot.
A complete shutdown of the technology, while stemming anxiety over the technology, is not the right approach. Regulation and supervision of the technology, including understanding its merits and avoiding its drawbacks, are key. This is what the Chinese draft policy is striving to do; to provide a safe and nurturing environment for the technology to grow.
In the mere six months since ChatGPT’s launch, these regulations have been paramount. It has become increasingly important to understand what is being said and done with the technology, in order to prevent any harm being done to society.
This is ultimately what both the policy and GAI technology are striving for; a balance between sci-tech progress and human security and development. As GAI continues to gain traction throughout the world, the need for regulation and supervision, as outlined in the Chinese draft policy, will remain vital.
The company mentioned in this article is Baidu, a Chinese technology giant and web service, who launched the Ernie Bot. Baidu has grown from its humble beginnings as a search engine and web directory to become one of the largest AI-focused companies in the world, with some of its technology playing a vital role in developing GAI services.
The person mentioned in this article is Ernie Bot, a GAI tool released by Baidu. Ernie Bot was developed to help improve the development of natural language processing (NLP) and dialogue systems, allowing more advanced conversational systems to be created and reducing the time needed to develop them.
