“In the use of [ChatGPT]-related technology, we should establish an appropriate age limit and content censoring and filtering mechanisms to ensure that minors aren’t exposed to inappropriate content and information,” Zhou said during an interview with the state-run China Youth Daily.
Wary of the effects on minors, Beijing has limited how long people under 18 years old are allowed to play video games and or use short video apps. Minors can only play games from 8pm to 9pm on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and statutory holidays. Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and rival Kuaishou introduced a “youth mode” in 2019 that requires identification checks and parental controls.
Both executives are delegates of the country’s top advisory body that holds meetings simultaneously with the National People’s Congress each year, hence the “two sessions” moniker.
ChatGPT’s rapid rise in popularity since launching last November has sparked a race among Big Tech firms to show off their own AI chops and produce competing products. The frenzy has spread to China, where many people have been trying OpenAI’s chatbot through third parties, as it is not officially available in the country.
Matching the likes of OpenAI in large language models could take time, though.
CPPCC delegate Li Tao, founder of Beijing-based information services company Apus Group, told the state-run China News Service that it would take one to two decades for China to catch up given its gap in producing the advanced semiconductors needed to power the massive amount of computations required to train and maintain such AI.
This technology requires clusters of servers running high-performance graphics processing units, with the most high-end chips having been cut off from export to China by US sanctions. Li sees synergy between hardware and software leading to explosive growth that will prolong China’s efforts to catch up, according to the article published on Tuesday.
Li suggested that China should take advantage of its “whole nation system”, a state-led approach to allocating resources that Beijing considers more effective than Western economies, to stimulate innovation and nurture talent.
China may have one other advantage in building a home-grown ChatGPT, according to Zhou Hongyi, the 360 Security founder: a large number of companies and users who are available to consistently use, test, and give feedback on generative AI products.
