The regulators in China on Tuesday released draft rules for companies developing generative artificial intelligence chatbots and related products like ChatGPT. The draft rules are first of their kind as they target fast-developing Artificial Intelligence, as China’s homegrown tech giants begin rolling out AI products.
The generative AI refers to algorithms trained with huge amounts of data that are able to generate content such as images and texts.
OpenAI-developed ChatGPT continues to be in the spotlight as it generates responses to user queries by becoming hugely popular.
China is not the only country concerned with the development of generative AI. Last month, Italy banned ChatGPT citing privacy concerns.
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As ChatGPT made waves, Chinese technology giants have been unveiling their rival products as well. On Tuesday, Alibaba unveiled Tongyi Qianwen, its generative AI product, that the e-commerce giant plans to integrate across various services. Last month, Baidu also launched its equivalent, Ernie Bot, for testing.
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The draft measures lay out the ground rules that generative AI services have to follow, including the type of content these products are allowed to generate. According to the draft rules, the content needs to reflect the core values of socialism and should not subvert state power.
Companies should ensure the data being used to train these AI models will not discriminate against people based on things like ethnicity, race and gender, the draft said. They also should not generate false information, the Cyberspace Administration of China said.
Analysts cited in the US media said that Chinese regulators are likely closely watching the development of generative AI due to its potential to generate content that could be politically sensitive.
The Cyberspace Administration of China’s rules highlight that concern and lay out a framework for how Chinese firms will need to approach the development of the technology. But the measures, which are slated to come into effect later this year, will work in coordination with China’s various other regulations around data protection and algorithm development, CNBC reported.
