Xi Pitches Open-Source AI to BRICS as Beijing Weighs Curbs on Its Own Models
Xi Jinping used the BRICS summit to propose a China-led community for open-source artificial intelligence, Bloomberg reported. He stated it would support the cooperation in developing and applying large language models, alongside seminars and training courses.
In New Delhi on Sunday, Xi extended an invitation to BRICS members to join the World AI Cooperation Organization, a body Beijing founded in July. Twenty-nine countries, including Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and Brazil, signed the founding agreement on July 16, with the organization headquartered in Shanghai. No European Union member state is part of this organization.
The pitch did not gain significant traction, as the joint declaration issued on Saturday made no mention of it, instead advocating for international cooperation on access to AI resources while ensuring its "safety, security, inclusiveness, and reliability."
Europe, on the other hand, has a clear stance on openness through the AI Act. The Act exempts providers of genuinely free and open-source general-purpose models from certain regulatory requirements, such as keeping technical documentation and supplying it downstream. However, this exemption is limited to models that do not carry systemic risk, and these providers still face other obligations, including publishing a training data summary and a copyright policy.
The Commission’s guidelines provide further clarity, stating that the exemption stops at systemic risk. On August 2, the Commission gained the power to demand evaluations, restrict market access, and fine up to 3% of global turnover for non-compliance.
Both blocs have ceilings on openness, with Europe’s being written down and reviewable in court, while China’s is less defined. Xi told China’s own AI summit in July that development and security must be balanced, and a social media account associated with policy thinking has hinted that the most powerful model features should be restricted.
State security minister Chen Yixin, in a journal article published on Saturday, accused unnamed countries of using blacklists and closed ecosystems to "sever global AI industrial chains and supply chains." His ministry of commerce spent a month discussing curbs on overseas access to Qwen, Doubao, and GLM. While Europe has set its limit and can be sued over it, Beijing is still deciding on its own definition of openness.