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Artificial intelligence
TechPolicy

China to create and implement national standard for large language models in move to regulate AI, while using its power to transform industries

  • The China Electronic Standardisation Institute, under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, will enact a local standard for LLMs
  • Baidu, Huawei, 360 Security and Alibaba have been enlisted by the institute to lead a special task force that will draw up the new LLM standard

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At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, Chinese authorities announced plans to create and implement a national standard for large language models as part of efforts to regulate AI. Photo: Reuters
Ben Jiangin BeijingandAnn Caoin Shanghai
China has set up a new government body that will be responsible for implementing a national standard for large language models (LLMs) – representing the technology used to train artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots like ChatGPT – as Beijing seeks to minimise potential disruption from this field, while harnessing its power to help transform traditional industries.
The China Electronic Standardisation Institute, which is under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), is currently in the process of enacting a local standard for LLMs to support the growing number of fresh AI development initiatives now under way across the mainland, the agency announced on Friday at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai.
The institute, which did not provide details about this national standard, said it has enlisted internet search provider Baidu, telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies, cybersecurity firm 360 Security Technology and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding to lead a special task force that will draw up the new LLM standard. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

LLMs are deep-learning AI algorithms that can recognise, summarise, translate, predict and generate content using very large data sets.

People visit the booth of Alibaba Group Holding at the opening of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 6, 2023. The e-commerce giant is part of a special task force that will draw up a national standard for large language models. Photo: Reuters
People visit the booth of Alibaba Group Holding at the opening of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 6, 2023. The e-commerce giant is part of a special task force that will draw up a national standard for large language models. Photo: Reuters
China’s latest standardisation initiative reflects how local authorities have extolled AI’s potential to help drive economic growth and become a useful daily tool, while maintaining caution about its risks and asserting regulation of the technology.
The latest commentary on the subject published last month by the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of China’s Communist Party, indicated that the government would intensify efforts to unleash AI’s potential.
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