Artificial intelligence is an important driving force for the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation. With the rapid development of technology, risks such as data security, algorithm discrimination, and technology abuse are becoming increasingly prominent. However, global governance of artificial intelligence is facing multiple challenges such as fragmented rules, uneven governance capabilities, geopolitical games, and intensified technological barriers. Accelerating the formation of a global governance system for artificial intelligence with broad consensus has become a common expectation of the international community.
Technological development brings new challenges to governance
In recent years, artificial intelligence technology has accelerated iteration and reshaped human production and life in all aspects, but its "double-edged sword" effect has become increasingly prominent, bringing new challenges to countries.
At the end of 2022, ChatGPT emerged, ushering in a new wave of artificial intelligence industry development led by big models. However, while the big model reshapes the paradigm of artificial intelligence technology, it also brings inherent risks such as "illusion" and "black box", as well as derivative risks such as legal lag and abuse and manipulation.
At the beginning of this year, an intelligent agent tool commonly known as "Lobster" called "Open Claw" quickly became popular due to its powerful ability to autonomously execute complex tasks and expandable skill packs. However, it also exposed hidden dangers such as blurred permission boundaries and sensitive information leaks. The big model "Myth" launched by American artificial intelligence company Anthropic in April this year can autonomously identify a large number of previously undiscovered security vulnerabilities in mainstream software and develop corresponding attack methods, causing concerns in the financial and technology industries.
The latest report released by the United Nations' Independent International Scientific Group on Artificial Intelligence believes that the rapid deployment of artificial intelligence technology on a large scale without regulation will bring huge risks and have negative impacts on society, economy, and environment. Turing Award and Nobel Prize in Physics double winner Jeffrey Hinton said when talking about the prospects of artificial intelligence development that humanity must ensure that it will not be "backfired" by artificial intelligence.
Global governance urgently needs to achieve new breakthroughs
The report of the United Nations' Independent International Scientific Group on Artificial Intelligence points out that to fully realize the benefits of artificial intelligence while minimizing risks, good global governance is needed. Some experts believe that the cross-border dissemination characteristics, impact scope, and systemic risks inherent in artificial intelligence determine that AI governance cannot be limited to the national level.
At the opening ceremony of the first United Nations Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance held in Geneva, Switzerland in early July, UN Secretary General Guterres called for the establishment of a global governance mechanism to ensure that artificial intelligence benefits humanity. Representatives from multiple governments, businesses, and academia have reached a consensus on this matter, emphasizing the importance of establishing adaptive governance frameworks, narrowing the digital divide, strengthening international technological cooperation, and safeguarding human rights.
However, the current global governance mechanism for artificial intelligence is still fragmented, and there are significant differences in governance paths among countries. At the same time, issues such as the imbalance of international discourse power and the politicization of technological issues continue to emerge, posing obstacles to promoting global collaborative governance of artificial intelligence.
Under the influence of geopolitical factors, a few developed countries use various means to construct technological barriers in order to maintain their technological monopoly. Although developing countries have strong demands for computing power supply, capacity building, and technological sovereignty, they face shortcomings such as weak foundations and a shortage of professional talents. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has warned that without urgent action, artificial intelligence may exacerbate global inequality and further widen the digital divide.
China's plan contributes to a new paradigm of governance
In the field of artificial intelligence, China has always been committed to being a provider of international public goods, helping countries in the global South strengthen their capacity building, actively promoting the formation of a global governance system for artificial intelligence with broad consensus, and promoting the development of artificial intelligence towards good and universal benefits through practical actions, fully demonstrating the responsibility of a responsible major country.
Open source and open artificial intelligence technology is a common wealth of human society. China continues to promote the "going global" of artificial intelligence products to benefit the world. Chinese open-source models represented by DeepSeek and Tongyi Qianwen have significantly reduced the threshold and cost of using artificial intelligence, effectively helping all parties, especially developing countries, benefit equally.
The choice of international markets confirms this trend. According to a recent report on the Financial Times website, many well-known companies from the United States to Europe, such as DolDash, Siemens, and Airbnb, have turned to Chinese artificial intelligence models. According to data from Open Router, a major global aggregation platform for artificial intelligence models, since February this year, the weekly call volume of Chinese artificial intelligence models in terms of word elements has significantly increased, surpassing that of American artificial intelligence models.
While promoting technological development, China attaches great importance to the governance of artificial intelligence and strengthens cooperation with countries around the world in various aspects such as development strategies, governance rules, and technical standards. Li Yiqing, Senior Research Coordinator at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, stated that China actively supports strengthening global cooperation in artificial intelligence governance and promoting the bridging of the digital and intelligent divide in the development of artificial intelligence, which has received positive responses from many countries in the global South.
The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High Level Meeting on Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence will be held in Shanghai from July 17th to 20th. All parties look forward to the conference further strengthening international cooperation in artificial intelligence governance, jointly promoting the healthy, safe, and orderly development of global artificial intelligence, and enabling artificial intelligence to better benefit humanity. (Looking into the New Era)