With the explosion of interest in artificial intelligence, policymakers around the world are contending with how best to mitigate against the technology’s novel risks without inhibiting its development. China has consistently declared its ambition to become a world leader in strategic technologies such as AI and quantum computing. It has also announced pioneering policies designed to leverage the power of data to fuel the digital economy.
At the same time, China has moved to implement some of the world’s strictest regulations on AI and data. These regulations make frequent reference to striking a complementary balance between “security” and “development.” In the fast-moving digital economy however, the reality on the ground is more complex and uncertain, with security often taking precedence. Nonetheless, against the backdrop of a slowing economy, recent events indicate that regulators now appear to be shifting the scales in favor of development in their approach to data and AI governance.
