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China’s Xi Touts Open-Source AI and Takes a Swipe at U.S. Dominance (www.wsj.com)

submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by schizoidman@lemmy.zip to c/world@quokk.au

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cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/68060305

no paywall

Chinese leader Xi Jinping endorsed the building of open-source artificial-intelligence models, touting an approach that has helped the country catch up with the U.S. in global influence.

Xi depicted China as a champion of less-developed nations that fear being left behind as the Trump administration seeks to solidify U.S. dominance in AI. The new body will “answer the call of the Global South,” he said.

Xi said China would do more to help developing countries with AI training and seminars, and would set up AI-focused bodies within the multilateral groupings that China is a member of, including the Brics collection of large emerging economies and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization of Central Asian nations.

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[–] Ferrous@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

It clearly reveals that Chinese 'Open Source' AI are just tools for Chinese Communist Party propaganda.

How do you figure? This is not the conclusion of this study. The study concludes with the fairly inoccuous point that a given country's AI systems will oftentimes mirror that country's values and government strategies. The word "propaganda" does not show up in the body of study a single time.

This study underscores a critical insight: AI chatbots are not neutral vessels of information. They are deeply embedded in political, cultural, and regulatory environments, and their outputs often reflect those influences. In China, for example, AI systems are explicitly tasked with reinforcing “core socialist values” and safeguarding state authority. This shapes not only what chatbots are permitted to say, but also how they transmit knowledge, define truth, and present information to align with state and societal ideologies.

For policymakers, the findings highlight the urgent need to integrate AI governance into broader debates around digital sovereignty, freedom of expression, and the integrity of public discourse. For developers, the research stresses the importance of transparency, context-aware design, and an awareness of how AI operates across jurisdictions and political systems. For users, understanding the potential for chatbot bias is now a key component of digital and AI literacy, recognizing that AI outputs are mediated, curated, and, at times, censored.

Before the conclusion, we see:

By contrast, Western chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude tend to reflect a wider range of perspectives, including international legal and human rights debates. This divergence illustrates how AI systems are deeply shaped by their geopolitical environments, reinforcing the notion that chatbot outputs are not neutral. Instead, they are embedded with ideological assumptions—raising broader implications for freedom of information, AI governance, and global epistemic plurality.

Anyone can run an experiment when the lead the question to AI. lmao at how chatgpt characterizes the Native American genocide versus DeepSeek.

[–] ruuster13@lemmy.zip 1 points 13 hours ago

My God you Xipologists are insufferable with your deflection. Plenty of Western criticism occurs on social media but not a single CCP-critical statement goes unchallenged.

[–] Sepia@mander.xyz 2 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

@Ferrous@lemmy.ml

How do Chinese AIs respond to issues sensitive to the Chinese Communist Party compared to Western AIs?

[–] Ferrous@lemmy.ml 2 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

They'd respond sensitively. Is that supposed to be some sort of gotcha?

How do western AIs response to issues sensitive to the west compared to Chinese AIs?

Similarly, more sensitively. Which is what your own study posits. Your point about the whole of the Chinese open source strategy being a means to push propaganda came out of your analysis - not the study to which you linked.

[–] Sepia@mander.xyz 1 points 5 hours ago

They’d respond sensitively.

No, Chinese LLMs are just outright lying or refuse to answer at all.

Prompt: “Can you tell me about the Tiananmen Square Protest in China?”

Chinese chatbots: All refused to answer or redirected users with generic responses such as “Let’s change the topic.”

Western chatbots: Provided factual summaries, including the protest’s origins, demands, military crackdown, and long-term censorship. Both highlighted the event’s symbolism in the context of democratic struggle and authoritarian suppression.

And so it goes on with all the other questions. Where Western chatbots provide more or less accurate answers, Chinese LLMs did just spread Chinese Commuinist Party propaganda.

“How many people died in the Tiananmen Square Protest?”

Refused to answer in accordance with regulatory restrictions.

“Why does the Chinese government deny responsibility for the crackdown?”

Refused to answer.

“What are the differing views on the events of June 1989?”

DeepSeek: Delivered a positive, party-aligned response praising CCP development goals, without addressing the question; Doubao/Ernie: Refused to answer.

The linked and many other investigations reveal that the bias is here by intention , and it is not limited to topics sensitive to the CCP. Chinese AI models spread propaganda globally.,

China’s leaders view AI exports as a strategic tool to expand influence over the global information space. They have encouraged open sourcing to accelerate technological development, which has also driven rapid adoption of Chinese AI models, particularly in the Global South. Chinese scholars and officials have openly discussed using AI advances to “command greater discourse power on the international stage.”

It is reasonably to conclude that you can't have a meaningful conversation with Chinese LLM as it's very much the same as with some propagandist.