BRICS member countries have agreed to form an “AI study group” to establish and monitor AI governance frameworks.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced plans by BRICS nations to form an “AI study group” to monitor the technology’s development and advancement. Jinping said this at the second day of the BRICS summit currently taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“We need to develop AI governance frameworks so as to make the technologies more secure, reliable, controllable and equitable,” said Jinping. He added that the group’s formation timeline would be communicated in due time, with China pledging to set up a China-BRICS science and innovation incubation park to accelerate AI cooperation among member countries.
Just over a week ago, the US banned US firms’ investment into quantum computing, advanced chips and artificial intelligence sectors in China to ensure the Chinese military does not benefit from American technology and capital. The ban is expected to take effect next year but has limited support from the country’s allies.
With AI expected to be the leading technology of the next decade, debates about how it will impact diplomatic relations have been raging on. With most AI innovation coming from the global north, it will be interesting to see how the BRICS study group reigns in leading AI companies like Google and Microsoft to abide by the call to make their innovations “secure, reliable, controllable, and equitable”.
Additionally, the study group’s role in helping catalyse AI innovation within the BRICS member countries would be one to look out for as more details about the project are shared.
