Chinese search firm Baidu joins global AI ethics body

The AI ethics body formed by five of the largest US corporations has expanded to include its first Chinese member, the search firm Baidu. The Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society – known as the Partnership on AI (PAI) – was formed in 2016 by Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft to act as an umbrella organisation for the five companies to conduct research, recommend best practices and publish briefings on areas including ethics, privacy and trustworthiness of AI. In the two years since it was founded, it has grown rapidly, with more than 70 members across the private sector and academia, including Apple, which joined in 2017. But until now, it has had no representation from mainland China – although Hong Kong University's engineering school is a member of the partnership. The president of Baidu, Ya-Qin Zhang, said in a statement: "As AI technology keeps advancing and the application of AI expands, we recognise the importance of joining the global discussion around the future of AI. Ensuring AI's safety, fairness and transparency should not be an afterthought but rather highly considered at the onset of every project or system we build."