Baidu names JD.com CEO as independent director and sets up ethics committee as it doubles down on AI to drive revenue
- JD.com CEO Sandy Xu Ran will join Baidu’s board as an independent director effective from the beginning of 2024
- Baidu, which has been investing heavily in AI, said that it established a technology ethics committee in October
Baidu has named JD.com CEO Sandy Xu Ran as an independent director and said it has established a technology ethics committee, after the online search giant reported steady revenue growth on the back of the company’s investment in artificial intelligence (AI).
Xu, who became CEO of e-commerce giant JD.com in May this year, will join Baidu’s board as an independent director effective from the beginning of 2024, Baidu said in its third quarter earnings report on Tuesday.
Xu was promoted from her previous role as JD.com’s chief financial officer in a major leadership reshuffle of the e-commerce firm’s core businesses. Xu also assumed the top role at JD.com’s retail unit earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Baidu reported 6 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue for the July to September quarter to 34.4 billion yuan (US$4.8 billion). Baidu’s core businesses, which exclude Baidu’s video streaming arm iQiyi, brought in 6.7 billion yuan in non-GAAP operating profit, beating an estimate of 5.9 billion yuan, according to a Jefferies research note.
Baidu, which has been investing heavily in AI, said that it established a technology ethics committee in October, which will “guide the practices of technology professionals” at the firm.
Beijing authorities – along with global tech leaders such as Tesla founder Elon Musk and former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman – have repeatedly warned about the ethical dangers associated with new breakthroughs such as generative AI.