China races to regulate AI after playing catchup to ChatGPT

Taipei, Taiwan – After playing catchup to ChatGPT, China is racing to regulate the rapidly-advancing field of artificial intelligence (AI). Under draft regulations released this week, Chinese tech companies will need to register generative AI products with China's cyberspace agency and submit them to a security assessment before they can be released to the public. The regulations cover practically all aspects of generative AI, from how it is trained to how users interact with it, in an apparent bid by Beijing to control the at times unwieldy technology, the break-neck development of which has prompted warnings from tech leaders including Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Under the rules unveiled by the Cyberspace Administration of China on Tuesday, tech companies will be responsible for the "legitimacy of the source of pre-training data" to ensure content reflects the "core value of socialism". Companies must ensure AI does not call for the "subversion of state power" or the overthrow of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), incite moves to "split the country" or "undermine national unity", produce content that is pornographic, or encourage violence, extremism, terrorism or discrimination.