China's mainstream media outlets are urged to actively embrace artificial intelligence technology to step up digital transformation, and leverage their role in shaping public opinion to boost healthy growth and effective governance of the AI sector, according to a forum held in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Friday.

At the Forum on Artificial Intelligence and Media Transformation, hosted by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, officials and experts called on media organizations to take the opportunities arising from the rapid growth of AI technology that are reshaping the media industry. They also emphasized the need to coordinate development and security in order to address the challenges the technology brings about.

In a keynote speech, Mo Gaoyi, deputy head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and director of the State Council Information Office, said that amid the deep integration of AI with various industries and domains, the nation's mainstream media are at a critical period in systematic transformation.

It is an inevitable choice for the mainstream media to seize the strategic opportunities presented by the technological revolution and accelerate the pace of digital and intelligent transformation to cultivate fresh momentum for their development and enhance their competitiveness, Mo said, adding that it is also an urgent requirement for shaping a new landscape of mainstream public opinion and serving Chinese modernization.

He emphasized that while empowering a wide range of industries, AI also brings about security risks such as deepfakes, data poisoning, algorithmic black boxes, privacy breaches, and cyberattacks, posing significant challenges to managing public order and protecting personal rights and interests.

It is crucial to seize the opportunities presented by AI for media development, but in the meantime, efforts must be made to strengthen AI governance and mitigate risks it may have, Mo said.

He also called on the mainstream media to actively promote China's proposals and solutions for global AI governance, with their news reports fully demonstrating the achievements of international exchange and cooperation, in order to build up consensus on global AI governance and bridge the global intelligence gap, thereby ensuring that AI is truly an international public good that benefits humanity and allows people from all countries to enjoy a better, intelligent future.

As one of the most influential news organizations in China, Xinhua News Agency is comprehensively exploring intelligent transformation in areas such as technology research and development, content creation, international communication, and capacity building, according to Liu Jian, vice-president of Xinhua.

Kang Yong, president of the research institute of ByteDance, said high-quality content is the most vital asset of media outlets. As they embrace AI, they need to shift greater focus to the production of high-quality and original content, he said.

Noting that AI is profoundly changing the world, Kang said that as a technology and content platform, ByteDance hopes to collaborate more deeply with the mainstream media to jointly create a healthier ecosystem.

Zhao Zizhong, president of the New Media Institute at Communication University of China, said AI can simulate logic but cannot truly understand the complexity of human emotions. In this context, the "attitude" and "warmth" that media professionals possess become more important, he said.

In the face of risks such as "algorithmic bias" and "false information" generated by AI, media professionals need to uphold the responsibility of ensuring the authenticity of news, Zhao said.

caodesheng@chinadaily.com.cn