China rolls out new AI rules to push innovation
BEIJING, CHINA — The Chinese government recently released new regulations on generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) services.
Due to be enforced from August 15, 2023, these updated guidelines encompass AI-generated content like text, images, audio, and video.
The latest regulations are designed to harmonize the promotion of technological innovation with enforcing requisite governance.
Stringent requirements such as the obligatory three-month rectification period for flagged content and monetary fines ranging between 10,000 to 100,000 yuan ($1,400-$14,000) have been replaced with penalties under prevailing Chinese laws.
While these rules are primarily intended for AI services targeting the Chinese audience, they exempt services exclusively used by overseas users or professional entities such as educational, cultural, and research institutes.
Authorities have characterized this regulatory strategy as “inclusive and cautious,” insisting that all generative AI products undergo a security examination before public release.
Under these newly established rules, service providers must adopt effective measures to improve the accuracy and reliability of AI-generated content. This marks a departure from the original draft’s insistence on absolute truth and accuracy.
Experts believe the final version of the regulations is substantially less stringent, indicating a clear intention to foster innovation while ensuring adequate oversight. This shift is credited to extensive discourse among academia, industry insiders, and considerations of economic factors.
The announcement of these regulations coincides with a period of rapid growth in China’s generative AI services, propelled by the global triumph of OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT.
Concurrently, China is intensifying its regulatory efforts on AI technology, with a draft AI regulation law already on the State Council’s 2023 legislative work plan.
