Session
Other - 60 Min
Format description: online meeting
The deep restructuring of society by artificial intelligence has brought about a series of social problems, arousing great concern from all walks of life. Facing with tremendous changes brought about by AI technology, China and other countries around the world are exploring new values, new ideas and new directions for intelligent society governance.
China Launches “Evidence-based Intelligent Society Governance Research Based on Social Experiments” by Leveraging the Advantages of Extensive AI Applications, focus on education, health, elderly care, community governance, urban management, environmental governance, sports, and other key areas closely related to citizens’ well-being. One of the key policy objectives is to build an experimental scenario of intelligent society governance, and to explore the operation mode, laws and regulations, standards and norms, policy systems and institutional mechanisms of intelligent society in advance.
With the theme of “Explore the road of intelligent society governance”, this Open Forum invites experts and scholars from different countries to share and exchange their views on three topics:
- the social risks and challenges brought about by artificial intelligence technology;
- the methods and paths of future-oriented intelligent society governance;
- and international cooperation and coordination for intelligent society governance.
We once again call on the international community to strengthen dialogue and exchange, and propose that researchers and practitioners from different countries, regions and academic fields to join in the research and discussion on global intelligent society governance, so as to jointly make intellectual contributions to building a people-oriented intelligent society. We also hope that countries can work together to address the opportunities and challenges brought by intelligent technologies on the basis of deepening pragmatic cooperation, and move hand in hand towards a new stage of human civilization. More importantly, we expect that with our efforts, the global public will pay more attention to the application and future of AI technologies and jointly build a new chapter of a community with a shared future for mankind in the intelligent era.
Bureau of Information Technology Development, Cyberspace Administration of China
Institute of intelligent Society Governance, Tsinghua University
Center for Science, Technology & Education Policy, Tsinghua University
Zhang Peng, Deputy Director General of Information Technology Bureau, Cyberspace Administration of China [opening speech]
Su Jun, Dean of the Institute of Intelligent Social Governance, Tsinghua University
John E. Hopcroft, the IBM Professor of Engineering and Applied Mathematics in Computer Science at Cornell University, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, of the National Academy of Engineering, and a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Turing Award winner in 1986
Zhang Xiao, VP of China Internet Network Information Center(CNNIC) and the Executive Deputy Director of China IGF
Simon Marvin, Professor Urban Institute, University of Sheffield.
Professor School of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of Sydney
Huang Cui, Professor, Dean of the Institute of National Intelligent Society Governance, Zhejiang University
Wang Yingchun, Researcher, The Secretary-General of the Expert Advisory Committee of National AI Innovation & Development Pilot Zone in Shanghai
Amrita Choudhury
Zhang Fang, Associate Director of Center for Science, Technology & Education Policy, Tsinghua University
Li Xiaoli, Bureau of Information Technology Development, Cyberspace Administration of China
Targets: 4 10
Report
AI brings continuous impact on human society, and human beings need to meet the transformation of intelligent society with governance innovation. Building a humanistic intelligent society requires the full cooperation of the government, enterprises, social organizations and academia. The formation of a people-oriented intelligent society governance (ISG) system is an important issue in exploring intelligent society.
It has become a new concept and new direction of the international community and academic community. The research on evidence-based intelligent society governance (ISG) based on social experiments can provide a new positivist framework for ISG. China has the advantages of in-depth application and extensive scenarios of AI, providing practical experience and cutting-edge exploration for the global AI development.
Facing the global opportunities and challenges arising from AI, exploring the road of intelligent society governance (ISG) requires a new cooperation framework and governance model. Panelists proposed that it is necessary to respect the differentiated institutional and cultural backgrounds of various countries and enhance the diversity and inclusiveness of ISG while conducting international comparison and cooperation in ISG research.
Panelists further called on the international community to promote innovation through governance and share the future through cooperation by jointly initiating a global academic alliance, establishing an information sharing mechanism, as well as setting up an international cooperation fund, and strengthening discipline construction and talent cultivation in the field of ISG.
Moderator: Dr Zhang Fang
Panelists: Zhang Peng / Prof. Su Jun / Prof. John E. Hopcroft / Dr Zhang Xiao / Prof. Simon Marvin / Prof. Huang Cui / Dr. Wang Yingchun
Rapporteur: Lian Xiangpeng / Tu Shengming / Zhang Yu / Ren Tianpei
This open forum session aims to discuss the research on intelligent society governance and the feasible path to realize people-oriented intelligent society governance. In today’s era, digital technology represented by artificial intelligence, as the leading force of the global technological and industrial revolution, is increasingly integrated into the whole process of economic and social development in all fields, profoundly changing the mode of production, lifestyle and social governance. The forum was organized by the Information Development Bureau of the Cyberspace Administration of China, and jointly hosted by the Institute of intelligent Society Governance of Tsinghua University and Center for Science, Technology & Education Policy of Tsinghua University. Seven experts from China, the United States and the United Kingdom discussed the opportunities and challenges of intelligent society governance and international cooperation, bringing together research topics such as AI social experiments, algorithmic governance, data governance, and urban governance. They agreed that intelligent society governance needs to adhere to the concept of people-orientation, to promote evidence-based intelligent society governance research, and to strengthen cooperation on a global scale, to build an academic community on intelligent society governance with shared resources and information, and to respect the diversity of governance cultures.
(1) Adhere to the concept of people-oriented intelligent society governance, and jointly build a humanistic intelligent society
The development of intelligent technology is based on embedding in human society. Humans are the initiators of the intelligent technology revolution, the main bearers of the new challenges of intelligent society, and the explorers of the risks of the intelligent society. The ability to promote people’s well-being and realize technology for good is the key to whether AI technology can serve the development of human society.
In order to achieve a comprehensive balance of technical rationality and value rationality, intelligent society governance should establish people-oriented values, ensure the core position of people in the process of intelligent technology development, application and governance, and make the construction of a humanistic intelligent society as a goal of governance. Su Jun believes that a humanistic intelligent society is a people-oriented society with highly developed science and technology, widely used intelligent technology, a comprehensive balance of technical rationality and value rationality, a harmonious coexistence of people, environment and technology, an open, inclusive and harmonious society, and a rich humanism. Humanistic intelligent society governance needs to achieve a deep integration of social values and technology.
Wang Yingchun highlighted that social values and rules should be deeply integrated with technology and applications, so that values can be embedded in technology and applications can reflect rules, and the two aspects can boost each other and promote each other. Data governance is one of the core aspects of intelligent society governance. Huang Cui mentioned that there is an urgent need to establish a new global data governance framework, build a more inclusive, people-oriented and warm global data governance system, and effectively protect personal data and data related to intellectual property rights and national security intelligence, in order to promote the global digital economy and social development.
Panelists agreed that the concept of humanistic intelligent society governance is in the fundamental interest of human society and can guide the development of AI technologies in the direction that benefits human society.
(2) Conducting social experiments on AI and promoting evidence-based research on intelligent society governance
Artificial intelligence will be an important part of future human society. Exploring the path of intelligent society governance requires not only a focus on the development of AI technology itself, but also a systematic and comprehensive assessment of the ongoing social, economic, cultural, and political impacts of AI technology. As John E. Hopcroft argued, reducing AI social risks by strengthening AI governance is critical to ensuring the beneficial and safe nature of AI systems. In the face of systemic changes and future scenarios of intelligent society, Su Jun proposed to adopt evidence-based research methods such as “long-period, multidisciplinary, and wide-field AI social experiments” to address the various issues, risks, and problems brought about by AI technologies. This will further promote the application and development of AI technologies and enhance the effectiveness of governance of intelligent society.
Simon Marvin suggested that in the post-smart city era more attention should be paid to the integration of AI technologies in urban infrastructure construction and urban planning, and that regulatory reform and innovation should be promoted to better serve the development of AI technologies and social experiments. In order to give full play to China’s advantages of wide, deep and diverse AI application scenarios, and to deeply explore the impact of AI technology on people, organizations and society, China has actively organized and carried out AI social experiments in multiple fields across the country in recent years, which can provide practical experience and real feedback for the development of global AI technology. Moreover, Zhang Xiao believed that AI social experiments are important in exploring AI new paths in AI governance and promoting reform of the AI global governance system.
(3) Actively promoting international exchange and cooperation in intelligent society governance research, and building a community with a shared future for mankind in the intelligent era
Panelists agreed that it is necessary to explore the path of intelligent society governance under the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, strengthen international cooperation in research on intelligent society governance, promote the inclusive sharing of intelligent society, and realize the development of differences and win-win cooperation among countries. As suggested by John E. Hopcroft, it is necessary to strengthen international cooperation among governments, enterprises, industry associations and other diversified subjects around the world, to guarantee the right to speak for all parties involved in AI governance, to continuously improve laws and regulations on AI governance, to accelerate the development of procedures and standards for AI applications, and also to create more valuable activities for the marginalized groups in the AI system to improve their quality of life.
Finally, Panelists unanimously called for a new cooperation framework and governance model to build an international cooperation ecology for intelligent society governance. They advocated:
-
to initiate the establishment of a global academic alliance for intelligent society governance;
-
set up an international cooperation fund for intelligent society governance;
-
build a data sharing platform for AI social experiments;
-
strengthen the capacity building of intelligent society governance;
-
and train professionals through training, workshops, and academic conferences.