2024 Institute of Public Policy International Conference
Artificial Intelligence and the Future World
Convenor: Professor Zheng Yongnian, Chair of the Academic Committee, Institute of Public Policy, South China University of Technology
Organizer: Institute of Public Policy (IPP), South China University of Technology
Date: September 21-22, 2024
Venue: Yun Hai Ballroom B, Nansha Bay Marina Convention Center, Nansha Garden Hotel, Guangzhou, China
The Institute of Public Policy at South China University of Technology is a research institute dedicated to the production of China’s independent knowledge system with a focus on pressing social and political issues in China and the world. The IPP International Conference is to be held in Guangzhou, China in September 2024. A scholarly dialogue cutting across geographica and disciplinary boundaries, this conference will invite participants from all continents to engage in a stimulating intellectual exchange on the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI), and its impacts on our society.
Artificial intelligence reigns as one of the most critical emerging technologies in the world today. The rapid evolution of generative models has left the world wondering if the AI singularity has come. Major global powers, bidding for tech supremacy, are pouring tens of billions of dollars into AI and computing power. However, the implications and risks of AI development remain uncertain. How will AI, increasingly approximating human-level learning, shape the future of work, social justice and equality, national security, environmental sustainability, geopolitical conflicts, and the paradigm of economic growth? These urgent concerns remain unanswered.
Humanity seems to have entered a new era of AI enchantment, where the ever-progressing AI technology exerts an unpredictable, almost magical, influence over our vision of the future. In recent years, international organizations such as the United Nations and OECD have proposed AI principles that call for a more responsible and inclusive advancement of AI research and application. Similarly, China, the United States, and the European Union have also initiated programs on AI ethics and AI governance. However, these governmental efforts, which remain still divided by ideological and geopolitical concerns, lag still far behind the staggering speed of AI development. Policymakers and public bodies have been stretched to breaking point.
The challenge we face today is unprecedented. As an academic forum, we strive to disenchant AI through social sciences and global dialogue. Our goal is to gain a reasonably sharpened insight into the socio-political, economic, and cultural dimension of AI, alleviate the AI panic, and transform AI from a catalyst for crises to a source of solutions for the public. We cordially invite political leaders, scholars, business leaders, and technical experts worldwide to converse on responsible AI practices, and envision a future world it should help shape.
