南方财经全媒体记者 李依农 杨清清 上海、北京报道

In a recent interview, Piero Scaruffi, founder of Silicon Valley Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (SVAIRI), discussed the distinctions and similarities in AI development between China and the US. Scaruffi also emphasized the value of global diversity in innovation and expressed optimism for collaborative efforts, aligning with the theme of "Innovating for a Better World" at the Zhongguancun Forum.

Regarding AI ethics and regulation, Scaruffi acknowledged the challenges of balancing innovation with safety and accountability. Despite concerns, Scaruffi sees vast potential for AI, especially in healthcare.

SFC Talk: Silicon Valley is leading the development of AI in the US and globally, while Beijing is the most active area for AI development in China. What are the similarities and differences between China and the US in terms of the focus of AI development?

Piero Scaruffi: I think the similarities are obvious. We are working on the same technology, we go to the same conferences, and we try to develop the same systems. Personally, I'm more interested in the differences. Luckily, the world is different. Europe is different from California, California is different from New York, and of course different from Japan and from China. So I'm more interested in the differences. And there are many differences between Beijing and Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley was born spontaneously. It's interesting that nobody planned Silicon Valley. Instead, the Silicon Valleys around the world, including Beijing, were planned; the government wanted a Silicon Valley. When I go to Europe, Japan, and China, it's very interesting how different the systems are, and hopefully, we can learn from each other based on the differences.

SFC Talk: What's your feeling when you participate in this year's Zhongguancun Forum? And how do you see the concept of this year's Zhongguancun Forum, "Innovating for a Better World"?

Piero Scaruffi: I wish we always innovated for a better world. Sometimes we forget that the goal is to create a better world. So I'm very pleased with the title of the conference. And I noticed participation from all over the world, and of course, I'm all in favor of collaboration around the world. I was born in Europe; I live in the United States. I travel around the world. So I'm very happy when the conference is so international.

SFC Talk: At present, strengthening the safety and ethical management of AI is the key concern in the development of AI technology in various countries and regions. And countries and regions, including the EU and China have issued relevant laws and regulations. How do you think a trustworthy AI can be achieved？

Piero Scaruffi: That's a very difficult question to answer. These are new technologies. Like all new technologies, it is not trivial to understand how to regulate them. Europe has done the most in this field. You have to be very careful not to hurt the technology. It's a young technology; you have to be careful not to hurt it. At the same time, you have to be careful that technology does not hurt people. So I don't know. It's a complicated issue.

My feeling is that companies are the ones that have the competence. They know how to make sure that AI is trustworthy. It's a tricky thing. I mean the company that makes AI is the one that knows how to control it. But at the same time, sometimes the company doesn't have the motivation to control it. We've seen the same problem with social media. So we still haven't solved that problem, and AI will be another difficult problem to solve.

I think if you look at all technology in that way, there's always somebody who uses it in a bad way. And it's really hard to come up with regulations that work. So new technology implies new regulations, and it's really difficult for me to understand how we can deal with it.

SFC Talk: What’s your attitude toward AI? Is it a positive attitude that in the future we should embrace AI technology?

Piero Scaruffi: Yes. I think the benefits can be gigantic. My favorite application is in medicine. For example, AI in medicine can provide the best possible healthcare to every single person on this planet. So it is definitely worth developing AI.

But at the same time, bad people could use the same AI to harm instead of providing better healthcare. For example, if your health records are stored in the cloud and a hacker changes them, AI might end up prescribing the wrong medicine. It's not AI that made the mistake; it's a human criminal who caused the problem. So the benefits are obvious to me. I want to see more progress.

SFC Talk: What do you think are the issues that need to be paid attention to in the global development of AI and how do you see the development of AI in China？

Piero Scaruffi: So I will share with you one issue, the issue that personally concerns me the most. I grew up during a time when there was a gap between the United States and Europe. There was a significant gap between the United States and Asia, and gradually we narrowed this gap. Now, with the emergence of new technologies, even before AI, this gap is widening significantly, especially between the few countries that possess AI and all the other countries without AI. Just imagine flying from San Francisco to a city in Africa or Latin America—the disparity is enormous.

My concern is how we can bridge this gap. Currently, the AI technology we have, particularly generative AI, requires very expensive and large-scale machines. Essentially, only four corporations in the United States can develop generative AI. I'm not familiar with the situation in China, but I imagine it's similarly limited. This situation is clearly not ideal. It's a major concern for me.

I don't want just four corporations in the United States controlling AI for most of the world. Ideally, I want even a small company in Africa or Latin America to have the capability to do what we do in Silicon Valley.

SFC Talk: Your book, the history of Silicon Valley has attracted a lot of response since its publication. Can you help us summarize what is the secret of Silicon Valley’s success? What do you think about the achievements of China's Silicon Valley Zhongguancun in recent years?

Piero Scaruffi: There’s a spirit of Silicon Valley that has not been replicated anywhere else. You really have to study the culture of the place, not just the technology. The culture is very different; people think differently.

For example, in Silicon Valley, you are very encouraged to try very crazy projects, and if your project is about something that is impossible, great. When they put a computer in the room when I was a kid, the computer was as big as this room, even bigger. Then somebody said they wanted to put a computer on a desk. Originally, it was for schools, to have a computer for children on the desk of a classroom; that's an incredibly stupid idea. Crazy. Impossible. Well, guess what? Today we have laptops, we have computers in our phones, and so on.

Recently, somebody said they wanted a computer that speaks like a human. Crazy, stupid, impossible. Well, guess what? We have ChatGPT.

In Silicon Valley, you are very much encouraged to do that, and if you fail, okay, well, you tried. Try again. So, there are some things that make Silicon Valley completely different. China, Japan, and Europe have been successful in many other ways, but not in a Silicon Valley way; it's a different system. You can still succeed and create great technology companies, but it's very different. Each culture is different.

SFC Talk: What is the most intuitive feeling of your participation in Zhongguancun Forum？What do you think is the biggest difference? A feature of Zhongguancun Forum compared to other forums？

Piero Scaruffi: The feeling is very different. I think if I have to name one thing, the international spirit, that's very important. It's something that sometimes other conferences are missing. So I like that there is this spirit here and also interdisciplinary. You know, I was just on a panel where there was an economist, a social scientist, and a politician. That's the right approach to have different disciplines communicate. I wish that we could have the same thing in many different countries and then exchange feedback.

SFC Talk: How do you think of Beijing in terms of its innovative environment and talent advantages?

Piero Scaruffi: I can talk about Beijing for a long time because as a tourist, I have been coming to Beijing since the 1980s when everybody was on a bicycle. It was a very interesting time. I've been interested in Chinese culture and civilization for a very long time. I've spent many years in Beijing, and of course, Beijing has changed a lot. In my first pictures of Beijing, everybody was on a bicycle and dressed similarly with no skyscrapers. In my recent pictures from trips, there are skyscrapers and the Olympic Park. I've seen Beijing change dramatically. I've also had contact with technology and science in Beijing and all over China. The progress is impressive.

策划：于晓娜    

监制：施诗

责任编辑：李依农 

记者：杨清清 李依农

制作：李群

新媒体统筹：丁青云 曾婷芳 赖禧 曾昭发

海外运营监制: 黄燕淑

海外运营内容统筹: 黄子豪

海外运营编辑：庄欢 吴婉婕 龙李华 张伟韬

出品：南方财经全媒体集团