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Newsletter April 2021

April 14, 2021

AI International Governance Newsletter

The Institute for AI International Governance of Tsinghua University (I-AIIG)


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International Seminar: “Moving towards Smart Governance: Government, Business and the Public in AI Governance”


On April 22, 2021, the Institute for AI International Governance (I-AIIG) of Tsinghua University held an international seminar titled “Moving towards Smart Governance: Government, Business and the Public in AI Governance” in Beijing. Members of the I-AIIG Academic Committee, chief experts, and senior consultants, as well as Chinese and foreign experts and entrepreneurs, were among the 20 online and offline attendees.

 

At the seminar, Yu Yang, Director of I-AIIG International Academic Exchange Program and Assistant Professor at the Institute for Inter disciplinary Information Sciences (IIIS) of Tsinghua University, briefed the draft of the special report China’s Use of AI in its COVID-19 Governance by his team. He noted that since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 prevention and social governance have encountered massive governance problems with great computational complexity, so AI has been widely used to deal with such problems in a comprehensive and agile way, becoming one of the distinctive features of China’s COVID-19 governance. This phenomenon highlights a new model of collaborative governance that integrates government and social sectors, which is different from the traditional public–private partnership (PPP). In the traditional PPP, businesses support governance and provide tools for governance, where as what empowers AI to serve governance are three factors: 1) businesses should be conscious of public governance; 2) government should adopt the mindset of algorithm adaptability; and 3) there should exist a pivotal department that connects government and businesses. Companies have the initiative to adopt AI because their main business needs to be built with legitimacy, and the mobility of AI technology enables lower costs of businesses’ proactive governance. Yu Yang also analyzed the overall attitude of the general public towards AI development, based on the survey “Public Attitudes Towards AI Technology,” preliminarily completed by the I-AIIG. He found that in the AI era, people have higher expectations for the performance of government governance. Countries are facing common problems of how to make better use of AI technology to deal with complex problems and to improve governance performance, so as to enhance overall global competitiveness. China’s use of AI in its COVID-19 governance indicates that a new governance model that adapts to the age of digital economy istaking shape and continuously evolving, justifying the urgent need for further research. After that, experts and guests at the seminar added their own comments on the draft report.

 

Professor Gong Ke, member of the I-AIIG Academic Committee, President of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) and Executive President of Chinese Institute of New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Strategies, stated that relevant research in AI should be more problem-oriented, and that the weaknesses of the use of AI in COVID-19 prevention and control should be observed and noted. The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has provided an opportunity for the application of AI on a wider scale. AI governance should prioritize data, algorithms, computing power, scenarios, personnel and other factors. Moreover, data governance is of great importance in the post-COVID-19 era. We are far from achieving inclusiveness and equality in this regard and the important role of “people” as a governance element should be fully leveraged.

 

Zeng Yi, I-AIIG Chief Expert and Professor at the Institute of Automation of Chinese Academy of Sciences pointed out that we should analyze the risks brought by the rapid use of AI in public governance. The premise for the public to trust businesses is that public sectors can protect data well. This premise needs a further exploration into how to balance traditional and new governance approaches, and to develop technical and routine management means. In the use of AI to empower COVID-19 prevention and control, China’s AI governance not only performs effectively within the territory of China, but also contributes to COVID-19 response in other countries, including a device for rapid temperature measurement, thus promoting the building of a global community of health for all.

 

Mark Findlay, the professor of law and Director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Data Governance at Singapore Management University (SMU), indicated in his speech that the draft report of I-AIIG and his ongoing research support each other, and that combining AI with business and social life is of great significance. He stressed that “the governance of AI” and “the use of AI to govern” are different in connotations. In this sense, and a clearer direction should be set in the research of AI governance. While there are explicit firewalls between private data and public data in other countries, China has valuable experience in massive data-sharing between businesses and the government. Meanwhile, the ineffectiveness and negative impacts of AI should be seriously reflected upon.

 

Zhang Wei,Assistant Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in China, stated that the use of (digital) technology to empower public services is a global trend. In terms of COVID-19 governance, it is vital to delve into the positive interactions between the government, businesses and civil society derived from a quick COVID-19 response. In the future, we need to focus on the danger of algorithm bias, and take into full account the voices and core values and needs of vulnerable groups. Businesses are able to gain massive sensitive data and information because of integrated governance. The following noteworthy issues should be dealt with in the future: whether the current governance structure is capable of maintaining data privacy and data security, whether anti-monopoly policies are complete, and the best methods for building a digitally resilient society. Decision-makers in China are advanced in understanding algorithm thinking and applying algorithmic thinking to public governance, and the government and businesses are quickly integrated in a major crisis. Other countries can learn from China’s experience of integrating “bottom-up” corporate innovation with “top-down” governance.

 

Xia Huaxia, Vice Chairman of I-AIIG Strategic Cooperation and Development Committee and Vice President and Chief Scientist of Meituan, pointed out that the report best explains the notion of systematic governance. He believes that scenario is the fourth important factor of AI. As a company grows in its size, it should take greater social responsibility. There should be a good pivotal department that connects government and businesses for better efficiency. I-AIIG of Tsinghua University itself is a great cross-platform to support the integration of industry, university, and research.

 

Yang Fan, Vice Chairman of I-AIIG Strategic Cooperation and Development Committee and Co-Founder and Vice President of SenseTime, stated that the key solution to challenges confronting all mankind is to proactively leverage the great potential of AI and other new technologies. To better facilitate the integration of new technologies with society, the strengths of the integrated governance of government, businesses and civil society should be maximized. Such integrated governance should involve institution, technology, and law to achieve comprehensive multi-stakeholder governance. The government naturally has massive data and huge governance demands, whereas businesses are good at identifying the value of data to serve society. Effective collaboration between the government and businesses can fully leverage the great potential of data and advance the development of the digital society.

 

Inthe brainstorming session, experts had a heated discussion about the use of AI in China’s COVID-19 governance. Dr. Chen Qi, I-AIIG Chief Expert and Professor at the School of Social Sciences of Tsinghua University, highlighted the importance of balancing positivity and negativity of governance. The integrated cooperation models in China and and in Western nations are fundamentally, and Japan and South Korea also have different practices in COVID-19 response. We need to deepen the understanding at the ground truth level. Zhang Nan, Associate Professor at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University, stated that the logic of people’s attitude towards privacy should be based on international experience and comparison. The impacts of transferring personal privacy to the government and businesses are different. AI is quite an advanced technology. It is necessary to divide the spectrum of technology, distinguish algorithm-oriented and purpose-oriented technologies, and thus further highlight the significance of AI in public governance. Zhang Yitian, Research Director of the Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence at China Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (CICS-CERT), noted that industrial informatization is a methodology, and the role of AI in Industrial Informatization 3.0 is to lead and drive using technologies and models. The business is a major governance entity, and its autonomy has played an important part in COVID-19 response.

 

Finally, Professor Liang Zheng, Vice Dean of I-AIIG, made concluding remarks. He first expressed his sincere gratitude to the experts for their insights and highlighted the important mission of I-AIIG, which is to enhance dialogues and exchanges of AI governance. I-AIIG will bear an open mind in the future and provide governance solutions of global significance to AI cutting-edge practices, all of which draw from the wisdom of domestic and foreign experts.

 

Expert Views


Policies in Response to“Using Big Data Analysis to Price Products to the Disadvantage of Existing Customers:” Behavior Attributes, Regulation Difficulties, and Governance Approaches


When we discuss the concept of “using big data analysis to price products to the disadvantage of existing customers” in theory, we should first distinguish justified differential pricingfrom illegal pricing. Justifiable price discriminationhas certain rationalityin economics for the following reasons: the key rule of market economy is free pricing; prices of products should be determined by supply and demand; and companies shall have rights to set prices under reasonable pricing policies. However, boasting obvious advantages in information and resources, the platforms should ensure openness and transparency when setting a price, and should refrain from price frauds, price monopolies and other illegal behaviors, so as to enable consumers to choose goods or services under free will.As algorithms, with the potential risks of inex plicability andcreating discrimination, are becoming an ever more important tool for the platforms to set prices, they should be used in a way that complies with reasonable pricing policies and stricter standards. Merchants, users, and regulators are all important players in platform governance, which means that the problem of “using big data analysis to price products to the disadvantage of existing customers” should be jointly addressed by these three parties, with a balance struck between protecting consumers and promoting the development of platform economy through three-party interactions.

 

According to the Interim Provisions on the Administration of Online Tourism Business Servicese nacted on October 1, 2020, it is clearly stipulated that online tourism operators shall not abuse big data analysis and other technical means to infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of tourists. It is highly expected that the Interim Provisions can realize a “counter-kill” against the conduct of “using big data analysis to price products to the disadvantage of existing customers”, yet the actual results take some time to show up. In fact, the problem of “using big data analysis to price products to the disadvantage of existing customers” is so complex that no single regulation can effectively solve it. On this account, it is essential that we trace back to the source and analyze the attributes of the behavior, in a way to clarify the boundary between justified price discrimination and illegal pricing activities, thus offering policy solutionsto the problem from the perspectives of regulators, platforms and users.

 

Difficulties in regulating the behavior of “using big data analysis to price products to the disadvantage of existing customers” mainly derive from the concealment and uncertainty of algorithmic pricing, and the fact that the users are usually at a disadvantage of information asymmetry. In addition, the difficulties in obtaining and producing evidencefor illegal pricing activitiesas well as the ambiguityin the legal determination of price discrimination also pose challenges to effective regulation. What’s more, traditional regulation attaches greater importance to punishment and deterrence, trying to curb the platform’s “vicious behaviors” with “irrefutable evidence.” This one-way and linear regulatory approach, however, can easily raise tension between regulators and platforms, which not only dampens regulatory effectiveness, but interferes inappropriately with the normal operation of the market.

 

Therefore,thetraditional regulatory approach towards market pricing should be replaced with a governance-based one, so as to reconstruct a balanced interactive mechanism that guides the regulated entities to participate in governance. The paper proposes that governing the behavior of “using big data analysis to price products to the disadvantage of existing customers” requires joint efforts of regulators, platforms and usersand also a balance between regulation and development struck through interaction. The proposed regulatory approaches are:

 

1.Standardize the pricing behaviors of platforms and merchants on the platforms;

2. Safeguard full competition in the market;

3. Strengthen the protection of personal information against data abuse;

4. Formulate standards and norms to protect from “vicious” algorithms;

5. Leverage the self-governance of platforms and self-discipline of the industry;

6. Enhance the awareness of consumers in protecting their own rights and interests.

 

(Source: Liang Zheng & Zeng Xiong, “Policies for ‘Using Big Data Analysis to Price Products to the Disadvantage of Existing Customers’: Behavior Attributes, Regulation Difficulties and Governance Approaches” [J]Science Technology and Law (Chinese-English Version), 2021(02):8-14.

 

Work Updates


1. At9:00-12:00 a.m. on April 7, 2021, the I-AIIG of Tsinghua University held the hybrid online/offline “Seminar on the AI Governance Framework and Implementation Roadmap” in Room 620 of the School of Public Policy and Management (SPPM) of Tsinghua University. Professor Xue Lan, Dean ofI-AIIG, made the opening remarks and introduced the background of the seminar.Professor Liang Zheng,Vice Dean of I-AIIG, delivered a report on AI Governance Framework and Implementation Roadmap. Representatives from governments and enterprises, experts from thinktanks, and scholars from higher education institutions exchanged their views on andre searched into the frontline practices, key issues, and challenges of AI governance.


2. On the morning of April 22, 2021, the appointment ceremony of members of the First Academic Committee ofI-AIIG was grandly held inconference room 620 of the SPPM of Tsinghua University. Professor Xue Lan, Dean ofI-AIIG, presided over theceremony.Yang Bin,Vice President of Tsinghua University, addressed the occasion. Over 20 people,including members of the First Academic Committee academicians Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, Zhang Bo, Gao Wen and Dai Qionghai and Professor Gong Ke, chief experts, senior advisors, and directors of the Strategic Cooperation and Development Committee, attended the ceremony on site or via video. Professor Xue first read the list of members, chief experts, senior advisors of the FirstAcademic Committee and directors of the Strategic Cooperation and Development Committee, after which Vice President Yang delivered a speech. Then, the appointees shared their views of and proposed suggestions for the priorities of I-AIIG’s academic research as well as the direction of its development.


3. On April 22, 2021,the I-AIIG of Tsinghua University held an international academicsymposium on“Moving TowardsSmart Governance: Government,Enterprises, and the Public in AIGovernance” in Beijing. Over 20 members, chief experts and senior advisors of I-AIIG’sAcademic Committee, and other experts andentrepreneurs specially invited from home and abroad attended the symposium on site or viavideo.The Vice Dean of I-AIIG, Xiao Qian, presided over the session. On the symposium, Yu Yang, Director of the I-AIIG International Academic Exchange Program, first introduced the maincontents of the thematic report still in draft by his team —China’s Use of AI in its COVID-19 Governance.


4.In the afternoon of April 22, 2021, the First AIGovernance Lecture of the I-AIIG of Tsinghua University was held in Beijing.Dr.Xia Huaxia, Vice Chairman of the Strategic Cooperation and Development Committee of I-AIIG, Vice President and Chief Scientist of Meituan, gave a speech on the topic of “When AI Meets Life Services.” In hisspeech,Dr. Xia pointed out thatAI can greatly improveMeituan’s local life services;thus it is related to everyone’s life. In addition to algorithms, computing power and data,scenarios also act as an important element for AI. As platforms grow in scale, they should assume greater social responsibilities. As he saw it, theI-AIIG of Tsinghua University is a very good communication platform that can betterassist industry-university-research cooperation. According to statistics, more than 200,000 people watched this event online. Professor Liang Zheng, Vice Dean of I-AIIG, presided over the lecture. More than 60 teachers and students from relevant schools and departments of Tsinghua University attended the lecture and engaged ina passionate discussion with Dr. Xia on the impact of AI onpeople’slives, AI’srole in our fight against the pandemic, as well as the relationship between technology and mankind.

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