{"text":[[{"start":8.5,"text":"Xi Jinping has set out China’s ambitions to rival the US as a global leader in AI, a day after almost 30 countries joined a coalition that stands to hand Beijing more control over the development of the technology."}],[{"start":22.3,"text":"China’s president called for “extensive international co-operation” as he warned over AI’s risks, and said China would offer training to developing countries and help them build capacity."}],[{"start":33.4,"text":"Speaking at an AI conference in Shanghai on Friday, Xi said that the more AI developed at a “staggering speed”, the more there was a need for a “positive direction”."}],[{"start":43.2,"text":"“[We must] more precisely grasp the scale of oversight and governance, and more promptly refine measures to forestall loss of control,” he said."}],[{"start":52.75,"text":"His comments came a day after nearly 30 countries, including Russia, Brazil and Indonesia, signed up to a new group, the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, which he called an “important milestone in the history of AI development”."}],[{"start":70.8,"text":"The body stands to give Beijing influence over domains such as international standard-setting for AI as the country’s large language models increasingly compete with their US rivals for global influence."}],[{"start":83,"text":"A commentary published in the state-run People’s Daily this week said: “The risks and challenges brought about by AI are becoming increasingly prominent, making the need for strengthened governance more urgent than ever.”"}],[{"start":94.6,"text":"“This is a major move by China to answer the call of the global south and unite the international community together,” said Xi, who was attending the Shanghai conference for the first time."}],[{"start":105.25,"text":"“We often say in China that a single string cannot make music, and a single tree does not make a forest,” he said. “AI should not be a solo performance by a single country but a symphony of international co-operation.”"}],[{"start":118.7,"text":"China’s AI start-ups have released increasingly powerful, state-of-the-art models, narrowing the gap with the US and challenging its leadership in industry."}],[{"start":127.75,"text":"On Thursday, Chinese AI start-up Moonshot debuted a large language model with capabilities approaching those of cutting-edge US labs such as Anthropic."}],[{"start":137.75,"text":"Beijing has also begun adding AI to its diplomatic approaches to other countries, especially developing economies, as it seeks to draw them closer into its economic orbit."}],[{"start":150.25,"text":"Xi said he was announcing 5,000 “opportunities” in AI training and seminar programmes for developing countries in the next five years, adding that China would develop “international AI application co-operation centres”."}],[{"start":164.05,"text":"Xi on Thursday told Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who is visiting Shanghai for the AI conference, that “China is willing to share digital economy and artificial intelligence technologies to help Kazakhstan achieve digital transformation”."}],[{"start":179.10000000000002,"text":"In an action plan published on Friday, the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s powerful state planner, pledged to promote open-source AI globally and help other countries develop AI using open-source models as a lower-cost alternative to western offerings."}],[{"start":197.25000000000003,"text":"Analysts said members of the new AI organisation hoped aligning with China would allow them to benefit from its growing technological prowess."}],[{"start":206.40000000000003,"text":"“Indonesia also expected that its participation in WAICO would boost investments in the high-technology industry sector to help Indonesia transform its economy,” said Indonesia’s state-owned Antara news agency ahead of the signing."}],[{"start":220.25000000000003,"text":"Some western companies, including DoorDash, Siemens and Airbnb, are also switching to Chinese models that are cheaper, increasingly capable and, in some cases, easier to run on their own infrastructure."}],[{"start":233.20000000000002,"text":"In Europe, the Trump administration’s move to impose export controls last month on Anthropic’s Mythos and Fable models has also forced businesses to confront the risks of depending on US technology."}],[{"start":246.20000000000002,"text":"The administration later backtracked, lifting the ban after a backlash from Silicon Valley and foreign governments."}],[{"start":260.35,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784288994_5420.mp3"}