The “Global Intelligent Governance and New Forms of Human Development” Forum took place at Zhiyuan Building on October 19^th. As one of the sub-forums of the Tongzhou Global Development Forum (2024) hosted by Renmin University of China (RUC), it was jointly organized by RUC’s Gaoling School of Artificial Intelligence, the National Academy of Development and Strategy, and the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence. The forum aimed to discuss the new challenges and opportunities that AI technology presents for human development. Experts from academia and industry, both at home and abroad, gathered to envision a smart future, hoping to promote continuous progress in global intelligent governance and the prosperity of human society.

RUC President Lin Shangli and Executive Vice President Zhu Xinkai, along with Tan Hualin, Deputy Director of the Publicity and Culture Department of the China Association for Science and Technology, attended the forum and delivered speeches. More than 100 experts were present, including Qiu Baoxing, academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, Ye Yinyu, tenured professor at Stanford University and first Chinese recipient of the John von Neumann Theory Prize, Xue Lan, Dean of Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University, and other distinguished scholars.

Lin Shangli emphasized that AI is transforming the course of human development and global development patterns. Big data and AI have become crucial engines for advancing new quality productive forces and strengthening national competitiveness. The integration of big data, AI, and the humanities and social sciences offers boundless potential. Renmin University of China has achieved outstanding and ongoing progress in the interdisciplinary field of “AI + social sciences”. Looking ahead, the university will leverage its academic strengths, seize opportunities brought by technological and industrial revolutions, and foster interdisciplinary research. It aims to promote integrated academic-industry and science-education collaboration, cultivate innovative models of interdisciplinary development, create new platforms for nurturing talent and new forms of advisory services, all in support of national strategic needs and the advancement of global intelligent governance.

Zhu Xinkai stated that, to enhance the integration of AI with social governance and improve public services, RUC has vigorously developed the School of Artificial Intelligence and established the School of Intelligent Governance to cultivate interdisciplinary talents in AI, digital economy, financial technology, and intelligent governance. Intelligent governance should not only incorporate the “speed of AI” but also the “warmth of the humanities.” RUC is committed to building an inclusive, equitable, and diverse framework for intelligent governance in collaboration with all sectors, promoting AI governance and fostering the flourishing of human civilization.

Tan Hualin emphasized that intelligent governance is crucial to addressing global challenges and facilitating human progress. The application of AI and other digital technologies in governance must adhere to three principles: goal orientation in advancing national strategies, problem orientation in driving interdisciplinary innovation, and outcome orientation in establishing industry-academia partnerships. Standing from the perspective of building a community with a shared future for humankind, these approaches unite various stakeholders to promote modernization in national governance.

Qiu Baoxing delivered a keynote speech on “How AI Impacts Society and Human Evolution.” He highlighted that generative AI is going through transformative progress, with both general and specialized AI interacting in ways that could spark a new round of knowledge revolution. The rapid industrialization of GAI is impacting all aspects of social life, including intelligent city governance.

Liang Zheng, Vice Dean of the Institute for AI International Governance at Tsinghua University, presented a keynote speech on “Turning Points and Pathways: Building a New Vision of Civilization in the Intelligent Era”. He noted that AI will inevitably have a profound impact on individuals, society, and civilization as a whole. With the acceleration of AI development, countries need to create governance frameworks that ensure the healthy development of AI technology. 

During the forum, RUC and the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence joined the “Beijing International AI Talent Innovation Alliance” as its first members.

RUC also released the achievements of its independently developed Yulan model, which includes Yulan 3.0, the FlashRAG toolkit, Awaker 2.5 multimodal model, a 3D model generation algorithm for physical environments, a scarce resource allocation policy simulator, and a neighborhood socioeconomic development forecast algorithm.

Additionally, Professor Zhao Xin and Wen Jirong from the Gaoling School of Artificial Intelligence introduced the textbook Large Language Models, published by Higher Education Press, which aims to support the popularization of large model technology and empower national AI development.

The first roundtable discussion, focused on “AI and Intelligent Governance”, explored topics such as “How AI Empowers Global Intelligent Governance and Human Development” and “Insights from the 2024 Nobel Prize on New Research Paradigms in AI”.

The theme of the second roundtable was “AI Safety and Regulation”. Experts discussed the issue of “AI safety and governance” from various angles, including data security, technology, institutional and legal regulation, and international collaboration. They offered numerous recommendations to address the complex challenges AI poses to security and regulation.