China casts its ‘open-source’ AI net. Belgrade and Algiers are also on the hook

‘We must establish extensive international cooperation and support the countries of the Global South, equipping them with the capacity to bridge the digital divide, promote sustainable development, and prevent a new historical injustice from arising in the field of artificial intelligence as well’: the speech delivered by Chinese President Xi Jinping on 17 July at the opening of the first World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai is not merely a technological proclamation. It is a political manifesto. We are witnessing the most precise articulation yet of China’s ambitions in the field of AI. With Xi Jinping’s speech, Beijing aims to become the global regulatory power in the field of artificial intelligence; it seeks to establish its open-source models as the definitive standard – in contrast to the proprietary models of Washington and Silicon Valley – and is thus aiming for victory in the race for technological leadership.

It is no coincidence that, in his speech in Shanghai, Xi Jinping compares the advent of AI to the invention of the steam engine and the spread of electricity: from the Chinese Communist Party’s perspective, whilst the first and second phases of the Industrial Revolution took place in the West, and the third spread across the globe but under unequal conditions, the time has now come for non-Western powers to lead the technological innovation set to change the world once again. And China is bound to be at the helm of this process. The Shanghai summit served as the launchpad for the WAICO (World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation), the new platform to which 39 countries have already acceded, which aims – according to the declaration – to ‘promote international cooperation and global regulation in the field of Artificial Intelligence, ensuring that AI is beneficial, safe and equitable, and fostering healthy development for the benefit of all humanity’. A quick glance at the list of participating nations immediately reveals a certain overlap with the BRICS bloc and its allies: Russia, Brazil and South Africa are, of course, present; there are numerous nations from South-East Asia, from Indonesia to Cambodia; Pakistan stands out, in contrast to India’s absence, as do Cuba and Venezuela. In Europe, the only signatories are Serbia and Belarus, whilst in the wider Mediterranean region we find Algeria and Oman.

Although Xi Jinping never mentions Washington by name, the contrast with the so-called ‘Pax Silica’ is clear, the US-led initiative launched by the US State Department in December last year to reduce dependence on China for the supply of rare earths (of which Beijing is the world’s leading exporter) and other materials linked specifically to the development of AI. Signatories to Pax Silica include the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, Japan, South Korea, Israel, India, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, whilst the European Union retains observer status: this arrangement has led the Chinese media to accuse Washington of erecting ‘a new Iron Curtain over artificial intelligence’, whilst following the announcement of the WAICO, the influential Yuyuan Tantian account – linked to Chinese state television – wrote that ‘China wants to promote a new global order for AI, bringing together the forces of all humanity and all nations’.

Following Xi’s speech and the signing of the WAICO agreement, Beijing announced that it would provide AI training models and establish ‘Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Centres’ in BRICS countries, ASEAN member states, African Union member states and certain Latin American nations. According to a report published last year by the UN agency UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), around 118 countries – mostly developing nations – are completely absent from discussions on AI regulation, and 100 companies – almost all of them American or Chinese – control around 40 per cent of the sector’s research and development expenditure. In an interview with Channel News Asia – Singapore’s state-run television broadcaster – Professor Brian Wong, director of the Global AI Governance Hub at the University of Hong Kong, highlighted a key point in China’s official narrative: the profits from artificial intelligence end up in the hands of a handful of companies, whilst the extractive costs (in terms of both data and natural resources) are often borne by less developed nations. For this reason, Beijing wishes to present itself as the anti-colonialist power that restores the balance and enables those who would otherwise be left behind to jump on board the next industrial revolution.

However, there is also another side to the coin, which points to an even more complex strategy: if the clash is between proprietary AI models (the United States) and open-source models (China), what will become of the billions and billions of dollars invested in Silicon Valley once open-source adoption becomes predominant? A sudden loss of value could deal a severe blow to the US economy.