A major action initiative calling for the collaborative construction of a globally open artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem was released on Wednesday at the ongoing 2026 World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit.
Held in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province, the summit gathered about 1,800 delegates from 138 countries and regions, under the theme "Open Source and Openness, Joint Contribution and Shared Benefits -- Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace."
Titled the Action Initiative on Jointly Building a Globally Open Artificial Intelligence, the proposal highlights the growing disparities in computing power, data, and talent. With advanced AI research and application capabilities currently concentrated in a handful of nations and enterprises, participants warned that a new digital divide threatens to leave developing regions behind.
To counter this, the initiative urges countries to co-build and share computing power pools and high-quality datasets, establish open-source seed funds, and support Global South countries in conducting localized development on open foundational platforms.
"We hope to see a better open environment, a better governance framework, and better security measures globally. From the perspective of open resources, we must ensure that even if certain regions lack such resources firsthand, they can still share in the benefits of AI development. That is the true importance of open resources," said Wang Jian, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Experts emphasize that open-source frameworks effectively lower technical barriers, allowing technology, knowledge, and innovation resources to flow freely. For ordinary users, openness paves the way for more affordable and advanced AI applications. For researchers and entrepreneurs, it provides a broader platform for practical experimentation.
The initiative explicitly encourages the release of model weights through lenient licensing, free commercial use, and flexible fine-tuning. This approach allows enterprises and researchers with limited computing budgets to pursue innovation at significantly lower costs.
"The biggest advantage is a multi-fold reduction in costs alongside massive efficiency gain. Only after large models are open-sourced can AI technologies and intelligent agents truly be grounded in industrial and productive service scenarios. For small and medium-sized enterprises, it represents a qualitative leap forward in operational efficiency and industrial collaboration," said Yao Xing, CEO of Wanlian Yida Group, a company focused on industrial Internet and modern logistics technology.
First held in 2014, the Wuzhen Summit brings together government officials, representatives of international organizations, technology executives and researchers to discuss the development and governance of the internet.
Openness and shared innovation will remain the central theme as the summit runs through Thursday. The WIC was established as an international organization headquartered in Beijing in 2022.
2026 WIC Wuzhen Summit calls for collaborative efforts for open-source AI
