China has once again escalated its censorship and surveillance policies as it seeks to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) models, even while it endeavors to advance its rapidly evolving technology.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has enacted additional regulatory frameworks to ensure that domestic tech companies align with the party’s ideological tenets.
All AI enterprises must submit to a government review that assesses their large language models (LLMs) to guarantee they “reflect core socialist values,” as was first reported by the Financial Times last week.
A man passes by a portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing on March 3, 2023. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)
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China has a history of limiting internet access through its “Great Firewall,” which blocks numerous items deemed unfavorable by the CCP, including information about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and memes comparing President Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh.
This firewall is now being applied to the AI sector as China attempts to propel its technologies forward while controlling the content created.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) now mandates AI companies like ByteDance, Moonshot, and 01.AI to engage in a review process that evaluates how effectively their systems censor the LLMs they develop.
Chatbot technologies are being created to not only gather sensitive keywords but also to suppress information on inquiries about prohibited topics, frequently relating to human rights.
These AI systems often respond with phrases like “try a different question” or “I have not yet learned how to answer this question. I will continue learning to better assist you.”
However, to prevent chatbots from rejecting too many inquiries, CAC guidelines state that LLMs should not deny more than 5% of all questions, according to the Financial Times report.
Chatbot systems are designed to gather sensitive keywords and suppress information on inquiries regarding forbidden subjects. (Getty Images)
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Instead, standardized responses considered politically correct have been developed for certain question types, though managing LLM responses is a significant challenge for developers.
China’s ongoing efforts to influence the narrative among its citizens indicate a broader threat, AI expert Arthur Herman, senior fellow and director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative at the Hudson Institute, shared with Fox News Digital.
“This reflects the future that China envisions for its own citizens,” Herman stated. “They also see this as a means to exert influence over the world beyond its borders.”
Herman highlighted China’s growing relationship with the global south, where platforms like WeChat have gained popularity.
“There will undoubtedly be elements of social control, even mind control, integrated into these programs… aimed at creating a world that aligns more closely with China’s vision,” he added.
He cautioned that these tactics are not confined to internet platforms within authoritarian regimes but extend to wherever these platforms are accessible, including the U.S.
“They have perfected the method of brainwashing through TikTok,” Herman asserted. “Chinese engineers have crafted a social media platform that is not only highly addictive but also designed to condition its users to perceive the world in a specific manner and respond to visual and audio signals in predetermined ways.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping is noted leading high-ranking officials in pledging allegiance to the party during a gala event, held in anticipation of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party in Beijing on June 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
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Herman expressed that China’s utilization of TikTok’s technologies is merely a “preview” of how Beijing might employ AI tools to manipulate populations outside its borders.
“China perceives AI as a means to influence public opinion,” he stated. “The capacity of AI to enhance brainwashing and mind control applications is incredibly potent…such that even when you are not directly under surveillance or listening to government propaganda… your perceptions are being subtly altered through everyday interactions shaped more and more by how the Communist Party wants you to interpret the world.”
