This white paper by a PRC information security standardization group describes the current state of AI security and safety standards in China. Appendices list all of China’s AI security standards as of October 2019, and provide examples of AI security innovations pioneered by Chinese tech companies and IBM.
Translator: Etcetera Language Group, Inc
Editor: Ben Murphy, CSET Translation Lead
Source: China Electronics Standardization Institute (CESI; 中国电子技术标准化研究院; 电子标准院) website, November 1, 2019. The white paper itself is dated October 2019. CESI is a think tank under the PRC Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT; 工业和信息化部); CESI is also known as MIIT 4th Electronics Research Institute (电子第四研究院; 电子四院)
The Chinese source text is available online at: http://www.cesi.cn/images/editor/20191101/20191101115151443.pdf
Translator’s notes are denoted by superscript letters (a) in this translation and do not appear in the Chinese source text. Endnote references appear as bracketed superscript numbers ([1]), and are English translations of the endnote references in the Chinese source text.
US $1 ≈ 7 Chinese Yuan Renminbi (RMB), as of May 14, 2020.
Preface
During the ninth collective study session of the 19th Central Committee Politburo, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly pointed out that it is necessary to strengthen the determination of the potential risks of the development of artificial intelligence and to strengthen our watchfulness against them, to safeguard the interests of the people and national security, and to ensure the security, reliability, and control of artificial intelligence. After more than 60 years of development, artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved into a discipline for research and development to simulate, extend, and expand human intelligence. In recent years, driven by the three major factors of algorithms, computing power, and data, AI has entered a new stage of accelerated development, becoming a leader of economic development and an accelerator for social development. At present, major countries across the world all regard AI as a national development strategy. In 2017, China released the New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan1 to develop a new generation of AI at the national strategic level. With the deep integration of AI in related industries and in people’s lives, the risks and challenges to national security, ethics, cybersecurity, personal safety, and privacy protection at multiple levels have also garnered widespread attention from society.
AI security2 standardization is an important component of the development of the AI industry. It plays a fundamental, normative, and leading role in stimulating healthy and benign AI applications and in promoting the orderly and healthy development of the AI industry. The New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan clearly proposes that “it is necessary to strengthen research into artificial intelligence standard framework systems to gradually establish and improve the technical standards of artificial intelligence basic commonality, interconnection, industry applications, cybersecurity, and privacy protection.” Effectively strengthening AI security standardization is the only way to ensure the security of AI.
In order to promote the healthy, rapid, safe, and orderly development and expansion of AI technology applications, the Big Data Security Standards Special Working Group under the National Information Security Standardization Technical Committee (NISSTC) initiated the formulation of the Artificial Intelligence Security Standardization White Paper. This white paper primarily focuses on the security of AI itself, analyzes in detail the current state of AI development, the main security threats, risks, and challenges, and summarizes the progress of standardization in terms of domestic and foreign AI security regulations and standardization organizations. Upon this basis, we have conducted an in-depth analysis of the needs of AI security standardization and have put forward a framework for AI security standards and recommendations for standardization.
- Translator’s note: For an English translation of the New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan, see: https://www.newamerica.org/cybersecurity-initiative/digichina/blog/full-translation-chinas-new-generation-artificial-intelligence-development-plan-2017/
- Translator’s note: The Chinese word 安全 can be translated as either “safety” or “security.” The translator deems that the latter translation, “security,” is more appropriate throughout most of this white paper. In cases where the appropriate translation is debatable, this translation defaults to “security.”