The AI Summit, a prestigious two-day global event, commenced in Paris on Monday with the aim of uniting world leaders, tech executives, and academics to scrutinize the multifaceted impacts of artificial intelligence on society, governance, and the environment. Hosted in the French capital, the summit welcomes delegates from over 80 countries. Notable attendees include OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, Microsoft president Brad Smith, and Google chief executive Sundar Pichai, alongside world leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and US Vice President JD Vance.
A significant highlight of the summit is the announcement of a new $400 million partnership between several countries. This initiative is set to bolster AI projects that serve public interests, notably in sectors such as healthcare, education, and environmental conservation. The collaboration underscores a global commitment to harnessing AI technologies for societal benefits.
Fu Ying, a former Chinese official, emphasized the detrimental effects of current US-China hostilities on AI safety progress. She expressed regret over how such tensions hinder collaborative efforts.
"The relationship is falling in the wrong direction and it is affecting unity and collaboration to manage risks." – Fu Ying
China has developed its own version of the AI Safety Network, reflecting its commitment to international cooperation. Furthermore, the Chinese government has adopted the UK's AI Action Plan in its entirety. Matt Clifford, the architect behind the plan, issued a cautionary note regarding the transformative potential of AI.
Marc Warner, leader of the AI firm Faculty, remarked on China's rapid advancements in AI technology. He acknowledged that despite their speed, these developments are fraught with challenges.
"The Chinese move faster but it's full of problems." – Marc Warner
Fu Ying advocated for building AI tools on open-source platforms as a means to mitigate potential harm. Her comments come in light of a new international AI safety report led by Professor Yoshua Bengio and co-authored by 96 global experts. The report titled "AI Safety Institute" was humorously critiqued by Fu Ying, who highlighted the essential role of collaboration.
Yoshua Bengio supported Fu Ying's perspective by contrasting the transparency of open-source AI models with proprietary ones.
"From a safety point of view, it was easier to spot issues with the viral Chinese AI assistant DeepSeek, which was built using open source architecture, than ChatGPT, whose code has not been shared by its creator OpenAI." – Yoshua Bengio
Fu Ying further noted that the lack of transparency among leading tech companies contributes to public unease.
"The lack of transparency among the giants makes people nervous." – Fu Ying
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