China sets stricter rules for training generative AI models
China has released draft security regulations for companies providing generative artificial intelligence (AI) services, encompassing restrictions on data sources used for AI model training.
On Wednesday, Oct. 11, the proposed regulations were released by the National Information Security Standardization Committee, comprising representatives from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and law enforcement agencies.
Generative AI, as exemplified by the accomplishments of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, acquires the ability to perform tasks through the analysis of historical data and generates fresh content, such as text and images, based on this training.
The committee recommends performing a security evaluation on the content used to train publicly accessible generative AI models. Content exceeding “5% in the form of unlawful and detrimental information” will be designated for blacklisting. This category includes content advocating terrorism, violence, subversion of the socialist system, harm to the country’s reputation and actions undermining national cohesion and societal stability.
The draft regulations also emphasize that data subject to censorship on the Chinese internet should not serve as training material for these models. This development comes slightly over a month after regulatory authorities granted permission to various Chinese tech companies, including the prominent search engine Baidu, to introduce their generative AI-driven chatbots to the general public.
Since April, the CAC has consistently communicated its requirement for companies to provide security evaluations to regulatory bodies before introducing generative AI-powered services to the public. In July, the cyberspace regulator released a set of guidelines governing these services, which industry analysts noted were considerably less burdensome compared to the measures proposed in the initial April draft.
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The recently unveiled draft security stipulations necessitate that organizations engaged in training these AI models obtain explicit consent from individuals whose personal data, encompassing biometric information, is employed for training. Additionally, the guidelines include comprehensive instructions on preventing infringements related to intellectual property.
Nations worldwide are wrestling with the establishment of regulatory frameworks for this technology. China regards AI as a domain in which it aspires to compete with the United States and has set its ambitions on becoming a global leader in this field by 2030.
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Making Britain better off will be “at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind” during her visit to China, the Treasury has said amid controversy over the trip.
Rachel Reeves flew out on Friday after ignoring calls from opposition parties to cancel the long-planned venture because of market turmoil at home.
The past week has seen a drop in the pound and an increase in government borrowing costs, which has fuelled speculation of more spending cuts or tax rises.
The Tories have accused the chancellor of having “fled to China” rather than explain how she will fix the UK’s flatlining economy, while the Liberal Democrats say she should stay in Britain and announce a “plan B” to address market volatility.
However, Ms Reeves has rejected calls to cancel the visit, writing in The Times on Friday night that choosing not to engage with China is “no choice at all”.
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The chancellor will be accompanied by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and other senior executives.
She will meet with her counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Beijing on Saturday to discuss financial services, trade and investment.
She will also “raise difficult issues”, including Chinese firms supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concerns over constraints on rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, the Treasury said.
But it did not mention whether Ms Reeves would raise the treatment of the Uyghur community, which Downing Street said Foreign Secretary David Lammy would do during his visit last year.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. Pic: AP
On Friday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy defended the trip, telling Sky News that the climbing cost of government borrowing was a “global trend” that had affected many countries, “most notably the United States”.
“We are still on track to be the fastest growing economy, according to the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] in Europe,” she told Anna Jones on Sky News Breakfast.
“China is the second-largest economy, and what China does has the biggest impact on people from Stockton to Sunderland, right across the UK, and it’s absolutely essential that we have a relationship with them.”
Read more – Ed Conway analysis: The chancellor’s gamble with China
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Nandy defends Reeves’ trip to China
However, former prime minister Boris Johnson said Ms Reeves had “been rumbled” and said she should “make her way to HR and collect her P45 – or stay in China”.
While in the country’s capital, Ms Reeves will also visit British bike brand Brompton’s flagship store, which relies heavily on exports to China, before heading to Shanghai for talks with representatives across British and Chinese businesses.
It is the first UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) since 2019, building on the Labour government’s plan for a “pragmatic” policy with the world’s second-largest economy.
Sir Keir Starmer was the first British prime minister to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping in six years at the G20 summit in Brazil last autumn.
Relations between the UK and China have become strained over the last decade as the Conservative government spoke out against human rights abuses and concerns grew over national security risks.
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How much do we trade with China?
Navigating this has proved tricky given China is the UK’s fourth largest single trading partner, with a trade relationship worth almost £113bn and exports to China supporting over 455,000 jobs in the UK in 2020, according to the government.
During the Tories’ 14 years in office, the approach varied dramatically from the “golden era” under David Cameron to hawkish aggression under Liz Truss, while Rishi Sunak vowed to be “robust” but resisted pressure from his own party to brand China a threat.
The Treasury said a stable relationship with China would support economic growth and that “making working people across Britain secure and better off is at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind”.
Ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “By finding common ground on trade and investment, while being candid about our differences and upholding national security as the first duty of this government, we can build a long-term economic relationship with China that works in the national interest.”
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