China to publish guideline on AI development: minister

BEIJING — China will soon publish a guideline and detailed regulations on artificial intelligence (AI) development to make breakthroughs in critical technologies, Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang said on March 10.

China is speeding up the research in the new generation of AI, Wan told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress.

"We will promote AI application to address problems in security, health, environmental protection and so on," he said, adding the ministry will help domestic AI companies and research institutions find international cooperation.

China is also working on laws and regulations to tackle issues related to social ethics, job structure, personal privacy and national security, which may be brought by AI development, he said.

Last July, the State Council, China's Cabinet, issued a plan on new generation AI. The plan said the AI industry should be a major new growth engine and have improved people's lives by 2020, and set the target of China becoming a major center for AI innovation and leading the world in AI by 2030.