Governments and industry must balance ethical concerns in the race for AI dominance

• Along with temporary bans of ChatGPT in Italy, some private organizations have started to restrict its use.
• TikTok has similarly been framed as a propaganda tool for the Chinese government, leading to U.S. congressional hearings about privacy concerns.
• Despite these growing concerns, there are few signs that investment in China-made AI has — or will — decelerate, with U.S. venture capitalists continuing to invest heavily in the country’s AI sector.
• But we cannot disregard how the Chinese government — or any government — is deploying AI to achieve their goals.

AI gold rush

• A speculative gold rush has followed the realization that AI — especially large language models like ChatGPT — has the potential to revolutionize business.
• Recent estimates suggest China has the fourth-largest number of AI “unicorns” — private start-ups that are valued at over $1 billion.

Ethical business of AI

• Research has repeatedly demonstrated that a product’s country of origin affects consumers’ perception.
• Following the communist revolution, the Chinese state has attempted to guide technology development for the purposes of monitoring and regulating society.
• Uyghurs, political dissidents and non-compliant people and groups have all been targeted by the Chinese government.

Western governments and AI

• Values inform the choices of AI designers, developers, and users.
• As recent revelations over the components of a Russian drone used in an attack on Ukraine have made clear, AI has both domestic and military applications.
• Three-quarters of the drones’ components were found to be made in the U.S. Investors cannot ignore the moral implications of global supply chains when it comes to AI.

Co-ordinated efforts are key

• While the Chinese government’s involvement in AI development might be too great, the hands-off approach of western governments have created their own problems.
• These issues include the spread of disinformation and polizarization and increased anxiety and depression associated with social media use.
• Illustrating this, Sequoia Capital, one of the largest venture capital firms to invest in China, sought advice from national security agencies.
• Strengthening democratic values in the face of AI will require coordinated international efforts between industry, government and non-governmental organizations.