Shanghai's dual mission, artificial intelligence
The 2024 World Artificial Intelligence Conference will open in Shanghai today. Since 2018, the World Artificial Intelligence Conference has entered its seventh year in Shanghai. People have witnessed the city's continued efforts to build the "Shanghai Highland of Artificial Intelligence" and have also felt the amazing changes that artificial intelligence has brought to the world.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that artificial intelligence is an important driving force for the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation. Accelerating the development of a new generation of artificial intelligence is a strategic issue related to whether my country can seize the opportunities of the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation. In recent years, general artificial intelligence has emerged as a new force, bringing about whirlwind changes and even subversion to economic and social development. The competition around general artificial intelligence technology is also becoming increasingly fierce around the world.
For Shanghai, artificial intelligence and the digital and intelligent transformation trends it brings are changing the logic of economic operation from the bottom up. To build an artificial intelligence "Shanghai Highland", make outstanding achievements in this leading industry, continue to cultivate and develop new quality productivity, and even truly take on the strategic mission of the "five centers", especially the international economic center and the science and technology innovation center, and give full play to the leading and demonstration role in China's modernization, it is necessary to make greater efforts to break through and catch up and surpass - this directly affects the competitiveness of a city or even a country.
At the same time, the rapid development of artificial intelligence has also brought a series of predictable or unpredictable new risks and challenges. At the end of last year, President Xi Jinping proposed the "Global AI Governance Initiative". Against the backdrop of multiple challenges facing world peace and development, he called on all countries to uphold a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept, adhere to the principle of giving equal importance to development and security, build consensus through dialogue and cooperation, build an open, fair and effective governance mechanism, promote artificial intelligence technology to benefit mankind, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
One of Shanghai's major missions is to participate in global cooperation and competition on behalf of the country. As far as artificial intelligence is concerned, this is not only a matter of technology, but also a matter of systems, rules, and governance methods. The real "high ground" is an all-round high ground, a high ground that takes the lead in touching, researching, and solving global and cutting-edge problems. It is also Shanghai's responsibility to build platforms and create scenarios for exploration at this level - these are related to the soft power of a city or even a country.
This is the dual special background of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, which is now in its seventh year. This year's conference added a high-level meeting on global governance of artificial intelligence, making the World Artificial Intelligence Conference an important home-based diplomatic event, in order to better respond to international concerns, express China's voice, put forward China's experience, and discuss the future of the world on the international stage.
As the host, Shanghai certainly needs to fully grasp this opportunity, intervene more actively and proactively to solve long-term problems, and take the lead in exploring in-depth governance with a long-termist mindset. Whether it can make greater achievements at this level depends largely on the breakthrough capabilities of underlying technologies and the level of industrialization - these aspects related to "hard power" require full strategic agility and a sense of urgency.
To achieve greater contributions in both AI technology and governance, it is natural to unify the technical logic, market logic, and governance logic of AI development. For Shanghai, this is an important guideline for developing the AI industry today, and it is also a consensus that needs to be strengthened through another AI conference.
Building on the efforts of previous years, Shanghai today needs to establish a long-term vision, maintain strategic determination, and engage in agile actions to better coordinate development and governance, openness and security. It must strive to break through key core technologies, create an open ecosystem, build application scenarios, improve the standard system, and improve institutional norms. It must truly give play to the "leader effect" of artificial intelligence in empowering all industries and the "multiplier effect" of driving development, actively contribute to global governance, and build a "Shanghai highland" with greater international influence.