Global experts chart AI governance path at Shanghai Forum 2025

Experts from around the globe engaged in discussions on governance challenges arising from the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, exploring pathways to overcome AI governance barriers at a sub-forum of the Shanghai Forum 2025 on Friday.

Former Under Secretary-General of the United Nations Kim Won-soo identified several divides requiring attention. "We face technological gaps between the Global South and Global North, divergent legal frameworks, and value differences between East and West," Kim said.

He emphasized the need for global consensus through ways like building capable alliances to bridge gaps left by declining global leadership.

Thomas Greminger, executive director of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, outlined the European Union's AI governance foundation, noting key requirements including human rights protection, system safety, privacy protection, system transparency, sustainability and accountability.

"While all major powers view AI as a geopolitical asset, there remains significant room for cooperation as AI is a disruptive technology requiring unified frameworks and rules to mitigate risks," Greminger noted.

Chinese experts also shared their perspectives on AI development and governance. Wei Kai, director of the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, revealed that large language models' capabilities have increased by 35 percent over the past year based on their testing metrics. "AI has entered a new stage of data-driven rapid evolution," Wei noted.

Feng Shuai, secretary-general of the Center for International Governance of Cyberspace at Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, emphasized that AI governance has become a global process with multiple stakeholders.

"While competition between major powers over AI development and governance is inevitable, our task is to find opportunities for cooperation within that competition and keep conflicts within manageable bounds," Feng explained.

Participants agreed that trust-building among leading AI-developing nations is crucial for effective global governance, while emphasizing the need to include Global South and developing countries in discussions.

They highlighted the importance of dialogue mechanisms and international standard-setting, acknowledging that developing a comprehensive governance system requires sustained collaboration among all stakeholders.

The Shanghai Forum 2025, themed "Age of Innovation: Technology, Development and Governance", drew over 500 guests and representatives from think tanks, universities, governments, enterprises and media organizations from more than 50 countries and regions.