AI based on Xi Jinping Thought

Language Log 2024-05-21

It's hard to believe they're serious about this:

China rolls out large language model based on Xi Jinping Thought Country’s top internet regulator promises ‘secure and reliable’ system that is not open-sourced Model is still undergoing internal testing and is not yet available for public use Sylvie Zhuang in Beijing Published: 7:57pm, 21 May 2024

It's the antithesis of open-sourced, i.e., it's close-sourced. What are the implications of that for a vibrant, powerful system of thought?

China’s top internet regulator has rolled out a large language model (LLM) based on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s political philosophy, a closed AI system that it says is “secure and reliable”.

The machine learning language model was launched by the China Cyberspace Research Institute, which operates under the Cyberspace Administration of China, the national regulator.

The philosophy, along with other selected cyberspace themes that are aligned with the official government narrative, make up the core content of the LLM, according to a post published on Monday on the WeChat account of the administration’s magazine.

“The professionalism and authority of the corpus ensure the professional quality of the generated content,” the administration said in the post.

The philosophy is officially known as “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”, and includes his instructions on all aspects of political, social and economic life. It was enshrined in China’s constitution in 2018.

In other words this machine learning model is all-encompassing, so long as the content fits within the bounds of “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”.

Selected readings

"The perils of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the PRC" (4/17/23)
"Vignettes of quality data impoverishment in the world of PRC AI" (2/23/23)

[Thanks to Mark Metcalf]