On January 17, 2024, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released the Guidelines for the Construction of a Comprehensive Standardization System for the National Artificial Intelligence Industry (revision for comment). The document, hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines, proposes to accelerate the formation of a standards system to promote the high-quality development of the artificial intelligence industry. In practice, the Guidelines represent an improved version of the previous guidelines, which were issued in 2020 and are currently in force. The deadline for submitting public comments was January 31, 2024.

Background

In recent years, China’s AI industry has achieved rapid development in technological innovation, product creation and industrial application. The market size is huge. With the rapid development of new technologies, exemplified by large-scale models, the AI industry presents new characteristics such as breakthroughs of a batch of innovative technologies, mature and extensive applications in various industries, and deep coordination and cooperation networks at international level. The revised version of the Guidelines reflects China’s commitment to further improve the AI industry’s standard system.

Objectives

The Guidelines propose that, by 2026, more than 60% of generic and key technologies, as well as application development projects, will generate standards; while the interaction between standards and scientific and technological innovation in the industry will continue to improve. Simultaneously, more than 50 new national and sector standards are planned to be formulated, supported by an enhanced standards system aimed at facilitating the high-quality development of the AI industry. Additional quantitative indicators include the aim to have over 1,000 enterprises effectively promoting and implementing AI standards, while also enhancing the innovation and development capabilities of standard service enterprises. At the international level, China will participate in the formulation of more than 20 international standards, and promote the globalization of the AI industry.

Content and Alteration

The standards system of artificial intelligence includes six parts (please refer to Figure 1): basic and generic standards, foundation for support, critical technologies, intelligent products and services, industry applications, and security/governance. The major changes compared with the previous version currently in force take place in the parts ‘foundation for support’ and ‘critical technologies’. More specifically:

  • The part ‘foundation for support’ integrates two previously distinct parts: basic software and hardware platforms, and foundational technology and products.
  • The part ‘critical technologies’ extend the list of critical AI technology from 5 to 12. The list currently include: machine learning, knowledge graph, big model, natural language processing, intelligent speech, computer vision, biometric recognition, human-machine augmented intelligence, intelligent agent, swarm intelligence, cross-media intelligence, embodied intelligence.

Figure 1. National Artificial Intelligence Standard System