China's push for inclusive, open-source AI cooperation, including an open-source AI community for BRICS countries, offers Global South countries a more realistic path toward AI sovereignty, a technology expert said on Monday.
Andy Mok, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for China and Globalization and author of "The Innovation Machine: How China Creates and Adopts Technology through Governance," shared his views on how open-source AI cooperation could benefit Global South countries in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).
"So when people talk about open source and the benefits it can offer the Global South, a lot of attention is focused on cost. And this is very, very important because of course open-source models can be sometimes 90 percent cheaper than comparable proprietary models. So cost is very important. But I think what ultimately matters more than that is sovereignty. So by promoting an open-source community, what China is offering is a more realistic path towards AI sovereignty. So if you're a Global South country, you're not reliant on one country's AI models where they can not only charge you what they want, but they can actually control access to that model," Mok said.
He noted that the deeper issue lies in who controls the price of a model and how it is developed.
"They can also control what actually goes into the model and this is vitally important when we think about AI as a general purpose technology like electricity. It’s going to power everything from hospitals, schools, businesses, even government itself. So I think the important point here is not just the cost advantage, but actually offering more realistic options for true AI sovereignty for countries in the Global South," he said
Mok also said China's initiatives in digital industry cooperation, smart manufacturing and engineer training aligned with the development needs of BRICS countries.
"What I think is the real value is that they are mutually reinforcing, and that if you create a digital industry that provides the ecosystem for smart manufacturing, which allows countries and companies to not only manufacture at lower cost, but with more flexibility and in a more environmentally sustainable way. And that of course, creates demand for engineers. And when you have more engineers, you can strengthen the digital industry or the overall ecosystem and that of course helps increase the effectiveness of the smart manufacturing sector as well. So I think again the Chinese approach is not only to offer individual value, but also to make sure the pieces fit together in a mutually reinforcing way," said Mok.
Marking its 20th anniversary this year, BRICS was initially formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining later. The bloc has since grown to 11 member countries and 10 partner countries, becoming an important force in advancing a multipolar world and greater democracy in international relations.
China's open-source AI push offers Global South path to sovereignty: expert
