UN chief calls on China, US to establish AI dialogue 

International leaders are calling for stronger safeguards for frontier artificial intelligence (AI) models amid their rapid development and the serious risks they could pose if not properly managed.

Singapore has joined International leaders in calling for stronger safeguards for frontier AI models amid their rapid development and the serious risks they could pose if not properly managed. A total of 22 world leaders jointly endorsed the joint statement on AI safety initiated by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, together with leaders from around the world.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for AI superpowers, the United States and China, to start a dialogue on the fast-moving technology's future akin to US-Soviet engagement at the height of the Cold War.

The signatories said frontier AI models pose "serious risks to safety and security" if poorly managed.

They cited recent cases of AI programs circumventing testing safeguards and gaining unauthorized access to Real-World systems, as in the Well-Publicised breach of Hugging Face in July. Signatories include the leaders of Norway, Finland, Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa and Kenya, along with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Reference Sources

1. usatoday - Trump refers to 'AI' as 'superintelligence'. What's the difference?
2. malaymail - Singapore backs global push for guardrails on frontier AI
3. jordantimes - UN chief calls on China, US to establish AI dialogue | Jordan Times
4. almonitor - UN chief calls for AI curbs and end to wars in his last assembly address

Alibaba ramps up AI push

Alibaba Group has unveiled its most powerful AI chip yet, the Zhenwu V900, and plans to expand its global data center capacity beyond 20 Gigawatts by 2032 as part of a broader roadmap spanning chips, cloud infrastructure and AI models.

CEO Eddie Wu said the Zhenwu V900 can deliver three times the performance of its predecessor, and a single cluster built on the chip can support up to 500,000 cards to power frontier artificial intelligence model training and inference.

The announcements underscore the Chinese technology giant's push to build out every layer of its AI business, ranging from foundation models and semiconductors to data centres needed to train and deploy increasingly powerful AI systems.

The announcements come as Chinese technology companies race to develop domestic alternatives to Nvidia's AI processors amid tightening us export curbs.

Reference Sources

1. thesunmy - Alibaba ramps up AI push
2. nikkei - Alibaba touts 'most powerful AI chip in China' for data center buildout
3. wsj - Alibaba Unveils New AI Chip, Outlines Plan for Larger Model
4. cnbc - Alibaba shares jump as new AI chip, data center buildout plans unveiled
5. asiaone - Alibaba deepens AI push with new chip, bigger model; shares jump 5%, Money News - AsiaOne

AI backlash puts $68 billion in US data center projects on hold

A new poll by Politico and its partners has found that California voters are overwhelmingly pessimistic about AI and believe the rapidly advancing technology poses a serious risk to humanity.

The anxiety in the hub of the global tech industry cuts across partisan and demographic lines, with voters of different ages and party affiliations expressing remarkably similar concerns about where the technology is headed.

The results are a striking rebuke of the technology from a state that, more than any other, stands to benefit from the industry’s continued growth. More than three-quarters of registered California voters (77%) said advanced AI is likely a threat to humans, with 44% saying it is “very likely” a serious risk.

Opposition to data centers continues to mount in the US, with 45 projects worth $68Bn blocked or delayed by local pushback between April and June this year, according to research group Data Center Watch. Communities across the country are now pushing through moratoriums on new construction, often before developers can apply for Permissions.

Some 30 Statehouses introduced or adopted rules about issues such as data center siting, electricity, and water. The research Quantifies growing concern about the rapid pace of expansion of artificial intelligence, both in the construction of new computing clusters and its proliferation into daily life.

There are now 843 opposition groups across 49 States, except Hawaii.

The number and value of disrupted projects fluctuate by quarter, with the first three months of this year seeing 75 cases worth roughly $130Bn facing opposition in the US.

The 45 projects affected during the second quarter represented more than half of all new large-scale developments Data Center Watch began tracking during the period. Opposition by public figures and the use of social media are amplifying concerns.

Reference Sources

1. latimes - AI backlash puts $68 billion in U.S. data center projects on hold
2. politicocom - In the heart of tech country, voters turn on AI
3. usnews - Three Out of Four Americans Say AI Firms Not Doing Enough to Prevent Disaster, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds
4. thestarmy - Three out of four Americans say AI firms not doing enough to prevent disaster, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
5. dailymail - AI boom will not deliver more jobs but will mean higher electricity bills, top economists warn

The CommonWealth English daily news digest is a service curated by CommonWealth English team with the help of AI tools.  

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Uploaded by Ian Huang