China is leading a new organisation of 29 countries on artificial intelligence. The body is called the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, or WAICO. China’s president, Xi Jinping, recently announced the bloc formally. Speculation is growing that it will split the AI world between China and the United States.
China hosted a summit on artificial intelligence in the third week of July this year. The WAICO bloc was formed at that event in Shanghai. The United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, was present. As soon as the organisation came into being, President Xi made significant remarks about AI. They are being seen as a very real geopolitical message.
At the Shanghai summit Xi Jinping said: “WAICO’s purpose is cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence. No particular state should have dominance over this technology.” Specialists say that with this statement he took a swipe at the United States without naming it. Beijing was also seen displaying a number of advanced technologies at the event to show its strength.
The United States and China have been trying to outdo each other in the artificial intelligence contest for several years. Beijing’s AI models have gained considerable popularity in recent times. China is therefore making a determined effort to present itself as a world leader in artificial intelligence. The United States still holds first place there.
The main difference between the American and Chinese artificial intelligence models is cost. Chinese firms are bringing to market at very low prices the kind of AI technology the United States has spent hundreds of millions of dollars developing. That argument does not apply in every case. But it is currently Washington’s biggest challenge against Beijing.
At the Shanghai event President Xi therefore said: “China favours ending the historic injustice in artificial intelligence. Our AI models run on information obtained from open sources. We invite WAICO’s members to take that opportunity. Beijing is determined to advance this technology and to ensure everyone’s fair right to it.”
China’s artificial intelligence technology is currently in use in a number of countries in Africa, South America and Asia. The Xi administration has announced that this cooperation will continue for now. In President Xi’s words: “The development of advanced AI technology should not be the sole achievement of any one country. It is better to carry it forward through the participation of several states.”
China alleges that the United States is unwilling to share AI models equally with everyone. Washington often obstructs the use of the technology by many states on the pretext of national security. Beijing is strongly opposed to what it sees as this selfish American policy. That is why China is making a determined effort to strengthen the WAICO bloc formed with 29 friendly states.
China’s premier, Li Qiang, first made public the blueprint for forming WAICO in July last year. The group currently includes Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, South Africa, Senegal and Pakistan. Beijing has plans to bring in almost all the countries of the global South.
There are several reasons behind China’s initiative in forming WAICO. First, the United Nations has plans to frame a number of international rules on artificial intelligence in the coming period. American influence over them is all but certain. With this 29-state bloc in front of it, Beijing wants to block that for now. It also wants to frame the rules on its own terms.
Second, artificial intelligence occupies a large part of Beijing’s industrial policy. The technology requires huge quantities of RAM and storage chips. The greater part of these are currently made in China. China also has strong control over rare earth minerals, one of the key raw materials for chip manufacturing. Some analysts contend that President Xi has formed the 29-state bloc precisely to keep that position intact.
The United States is still well ahead of China in the artificial intelligence contest. It is putting weight on building AI-based tools. That is intensifying the chip war between Washington and Beijing. Running artificial intelligence technology requires vast data centres, and that in turn requires increased electricity generation. There the Xi administration is ahead of the US government.
China currently generates twice as much electricity as the United States. Beijing’s electricity is also much cheaper. But with the United States imposing restrictions on the export of complex technology, the pace of AI development in China has slowed somewhat. In this situation there is no doubt that President Xi is seeking dominance in artificial intelligence by forming the new bloc.
Arindrajit Basu, a researcher at the American think tank the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has already spoken about the matter in the media. In his words: “On artificial intelligence and cyber security policy, the world will have to choose a side. Either they go with America, or with China. It is quite hard to remain a third party. WAICO is a sign of that.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report