Tapping digital tech urged to build cultural strength

Officials and experts called on Monday for greater efforts to promote integration of science and technology with culture to boost the high-quality development of the cultural sector and build China into a leading country with a thriving socialist culture.

They made the remarks at the Forum on Building up China's Cultural Strength, which was held in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. The event, themed "Deepening Reform in the Cultural Sector to Ignite Cultural Creativity", was hosted by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, delivered a keynote speech at the forum.

Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Party secretary of Guangdong, also gave a speech.

The participants at the forum underlined the need to meet the opportunities and challenges brought by the new technological revolution, grasp the trends of digitalization and intelligence, and explore effective mechanisms for integrating culture and technology, in order to inject fresh vitality into the creation, production and publicity of cultural works.

It is crucial to actively leverage cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to promote their broad application in the cultural sector in order to foster a greater number of innovative formats, models and scenarios, they said.

Shen Zhuanghai, executive deputy secretary of the CPC Wuhan University Committee, said that embracing the changes arising from digital and intelligent development has become an inevitability in promoting cultural prosperity.

It is necessary to keep abreast of the latest advancements in digital technology to promote the deep integration of such technology with cultural development, facilitate innovation in cultural works, and further energize the vitality of cultural forces in advancing Chinese modernization, Shen said.

The third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, an important Party meeting held in July last year, emphasized the need to adapt to the rapid development of information technology to stimulate creativity and innovation in the cultural sector.

Gao Wen, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a professor of computer science at Peking University, said that the deep integration of culture and AI and their mutual empowerment have become global trends sweeping the world.

"This is not only a key strategic issue for inheriting Chinese cultural heritage and enhancing the country's core competitiveness, but also a significant pathway that we must firmly stick to as we embark on the journey of becoming a strong country in culture," said Gao, who is at the forefront of China's rapid development in AI.

While highlighting the inevitable trend of applying AI technologies in the cultural sector, he warned of the potential problems and risks that may arise, such as copyright concerns related to AI-generated content, data privacy and personal information security.