Chinese Perspectives on AI in Global Context: Towards a New Ethical Eco-System

Summary

A multi-year and interdisciplinary project where diverse scholars and practitioners, from AI engineers to Sci-fiction novelists, from philosophers to Sinologists aim to discuss Chinese perspectives on AI in a global dialogue and explore its implications for humanity and its future.

About the project

The project “The Chinese Discourse of AI in Global Context: Towards a New Ethical Eco-System” is centered on several closed-door workshops and events in the China Forum series. This research is based on the active participation of academic voices from the humanities and social sciences, including AI engineers, scholars of early and modern Chinese culture, experts in digital media, communication, and AI in China, philosophers and ethicists; participants also include sci-fiction novelists and AI users. In line with the China Forum, its aim at fostering dialogue among cultures and bridging Asian and Western civilizations, the China and AI series proposes to reflect on the Chinese discourse of AI within a more global framework, but also invites to listen to a ‘AI lesson’ from China that could bring new and nuanced perspectives on potential and roles of AI.

Our first close-door workshop series is divided into two segments: the first part “AI and humans face to face: analysis within a binary thinking” focuses on the deconstruction and exploration of AI and humans, also addressing their relationship and mutual influence. A China Forum event on this topic took place on 10 April. The second set of meetings, titled “Reflections on a new ethical eco-system: beyond a binary thinking”, shifts the attention to ethical concerns, and ponders on the formation of a new ethical eco-system; a second China Forum will report our conclusions in an open discussion with the large public.

The website of the Georgetown University’s Representative Office in Rome has published further information on our workshops and China Forum events.

The project is an on-going collaboration between Georgetown University’s Representative Office in Rome (Dr. Debora Tonelli) and SOAS (Dr. Stefania Travagnin); it counts the participation of 13 scholars from several disciplinary trainings (history of religion, Chinese studies, anthropology, sociology, ritual studies, media and material culture) and affiliated to institutions in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Other practitioners like sci-fiction novelists are also active members of this research.