The Professional Committee on Artificial Intelligence of the World Internet Conference Has Been Established: Who Are the “Big Names” Involved?

The first specialized and permanent branch established by the World Internet Conference (WIC) – the Professional Committee on Artificial Intelligence (AI) – was formally established during this year’s Wuzhen Summit.
According to the China Cybersecurity and Informatization Committee, on November 20, the founding meeting of the WIC’s Professional Committee on AI was held in Wuzhen, Zhejiang. Zhuang Rongwen, Director of the Cybersecurity and Informatization Office of the State Council of China and Chairman of the WIC, attended the meeting and delivered a concluding speech. Francis Gurry, Vice Chairman of the WIC and former Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, was also present. Ren Xianliang, Secretary-General of the WIC, presided over the meeting.
It was reported that the first Professional Committee comprised over 170 members, bringing together authoritative experts and professionals from international organizations, renowned think tanks, research institutes, professional associations, and the industry in the field of AI. The committee has established plans for standard promotion, security and governance promotion, and industry promotion.
Adhering to the principles of building an international exchange and cooperation platform, promoting the synergy of development and governance, and facilitating global sharing of AI development achievements, the Professional Committee will continuously build international consensus through activities such as thematic seminars, results sharing, and initiative releases, to promote inclusive, universally beneficial, and sustainable development of AI.
The founding meeting approved the working rules of the Professional Committee, as well as the list of its Chief Chairman, Chairmen, Vice Chairmen, Advisors, leaders of promotion plans, and members. Wang Jian, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Director of the Zhijiang Lab, and Founder of Alibaba Cloud, was elected as the Chief Chairman. Wendy Hall, Fellow of the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering, Vice President (International Collaboration) of the University of Southampton, UK; Shahram Dustdar, Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Professor at the Technical University of Vienna, Austria; Zhang Yaqin, Foreign Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Dean of the Institute for AI Industry Research at Tsinghua University; Zeng Yi, Director of the Beijing AI Security and Governance Lab and Expert at the United Nations High-Level Advisory Board on AI; and Zhou Hongyi, Founder of 360 Group, were elected as Chairmen.
Twenty-four AI-related leaders and experts from organizations such as the Arab Information and Communication Technology Organization, AMD, IBM, JD.com, iFLYTEK, Ant Group, QiAnXin, Tsinghua University, People’s Daily Online, Shanghai Nokia Bell, SAP, Cisco, H3C, Sina, Evernote, China Telecom, China Unicom, China Cyberspace Security Association, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, China Mobile, Zhijiang Lab, and China Media Group, served as Vice Chairmen.
Zhang Yaoxue, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Zheng Zhiming, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Gong Ke, Executive Dean of the China Institute for New-Generation AI Development Strategies; Zhou Hanhua, Researcher at the Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Luigi Gambardella, Chairman of the Digital China and Europe Association; Chris Brown, Director of the China-UK Business Environment Program at the British Standards Institution; Tang Yinshan, Associate Dean of the Henley Business School at the University of Reading, UK; and Li Yuhang, Chairman of the Cloud Security Alliance Greater China Region, served as Advisors.
At the founding meeting, Zhuang Rongwen stated that the establishment of the AI Professional Committee by the WIC is of great significance for the conference to fully leverage its role as a global platform for joint discussion, construction, and sharing in the internet field, and to promote international cooperation in AI. The Professional Committee should fully commit to building an exchange and cooperation platform, continuously consolidate the synergy for construction and development, actively participate in the international governance process, provide constructive ideas and innovative solutions for the healthy development of global AI, promote the formation of a people-oriented and ethically aligned AI governance system, and contribute wisdom and strength to the development and governance of global AI.
Wang Jian, on behalf of the leadership of the Professional Committee, delivered a speech. He expressed that the committee will fully leverage the top experts in industry, academia, and research to promote international exchange and cooperation in AI, introduce influential achievements, continuously build consensus, and jointly construct an intelligent and better digital future.
On the morning of the same day, the 2024 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, hosted by the WIC and undertaken by the Zhejiang Provincial Government, opened in Wuzhen with the theme “Embracing a People-Oriented and Ethically Aligned Digital Future – Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace”. It was understood that this Wuzhen Summit would comprehensively focus on AI, with a special AI section added to the sub-forums to discuss topics such as AI technological innovation and governance, and AI empowering new forms of productivity.