For the Chinese government, ChatGPT may be an advance but it is also an ‘ethical problem’
- ‘ChatGPT is very hot indeed’: science and technology minister says China has adopted measures on AI regarding ethics but gives no details
- Ministry will continue to support AI as a strategic emerging industry and a new growth engine
The chatbot developed by OpenAI has taken Chinese society by storm with its unprecedented capabilities, even though the US company bans access from China.
“ChatGPT is very hot indeed,” minister Wang Zhigang said during a press conference in Beijing on Friday.
One of the government’s major concerns was “how to strengthen ethical regulation”, he said.
“For any new technology, including AI technology, our country has adopted some corresponding measures in regard to ethics,” Wang said.
These measures would help “secure advantages and avoid disadvantages, and to make better use of the benefits in the development of science and technology”, he added.
Wang was responding to a question about ChatGPT. He did not elaborate on the government’s concerns or the concrete measures adopted.
China was worried the US would use the powerful AI as a new weapon in ideological warfare against China, said a Tsinghua University professor of computer science.