China and Zambia on Tuesday co-chaired the first meeting of the Group of Friends for International Cooperation on AI Capacity-building of Artificial Intelligence at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, marking the official establishment of the group, whose aim is to promote AI for the empowerment of sustainable development in all countries.
Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said at the meeting that facing the opportunities and challenges brought by artificial intelligence (AI), Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the Global AI Governance Initiative in October 2023, contributing China's wisdom to the major issue of AI governance.
The Chinese representative said it is necessary to promote the principle of AI-for-good, uphold fairness and inclusiveness, practice multilateralism, and focus on capacity building, stressing that the Group of Friends will promote broad partnerships and take practical and effective actions to foster global well-being.
"This Group of Friends is open to all member states, and we look forward to welcoming more countries on board. China intends to make good use of this platform and work with fellow members and the wider international community to implement the visions and actions set out in the GA resolution on AI capacity-building, the GDI (Global Development Initiative), as well as the AI capacity-building action plan for good and for all. Working together, we can make a big difference in AI capacity-building around the world," said Fu.
Representatives from more than 80 countries, including Egypt and Pakistan, and UN agencies such as the Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology attended the meeting.
"Let this launch therefore be a beginning of a fruitful partnership that transforms the promise of AI into reality for all, we look forward to your insights during today's discussions and to our continued collaboration in the months and years ahead," said Prudence Kaoma, acting permanent secretary in Zambia's Ministry of Finance and National Planning.
"We acknowledge the valuable efforts exerted by China to shed light on the importance of [AI] capacity-building in this field, thereby augmenting the ability of states to employ this emerging and potentially limitless technology," said Osama Mahmoud Abdel Khalek Mahmoud, Egypt's permanent representative to the United Nations.
Speaking to press on the sidelines of the meeting, Fu highlighted the platform's potential to amplify the interests of the developing countries.
"The purpose of establishing this group is to provide a platform. On the one hand, the voice of the international community, especially the voice on international cooperation, can be widely disseminated, especially the call of the Global South in this regard. More importantly, we can have in-depth discussions on the specific content and projects of cooperation. The purpose is to encourage the international community to pay more attention to AI governance, especially to ensure that the vast number of developing countries can truly benefit from AI development. As we often say, no country should be left behind," he said.
China-proposed AI cooperation group holds first meeting at UN
