Internet Must Have Security, Humanity, Apple CEO Tells China - We Share China Cyberspace Vision...
Internet Must Have Security, Humanity, Apple CEO Tells
China
December 2, 2017, 8:58 PM PST Updated on December 3,
2017, 4:39 AM PST
Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook made his
first appearance at China’s World Internet Conference, using the surprise
keynote to call for future internet and AI technologies to be infused with
privacy, security and humanity.
Cook made the comments on Sunday at the opening ceremony
for the conference -- an event designed to globally promote the country’s
vision of a more censored and controlled internet. It’s the second Chinese
appearance in two months for the executive, who met with President Xi Jinping
in October.
“The theme of this conference -- developing a digital
economy for openness and shared benefits -- is a vision we at Apple share,”
Cook said. “We are proud to have worked alongside many of our partners in China
to help build a community that will join a common future in cyberspace."
Cook and Google chief executive Sundar Pichai are both
making their first trips to the event. The attendance of leaders from two of
the world’s most valuable tech giants lends credibility to China’s efforts to
influence the global internet so it better resembles its own.
Cook’s comments come at a pivotal point for the company’s
future in China, which is now its biggest market outside of North America. It
relies on the sale of hardware and services in the world’s most populated
country to propel revenue and profit growth. But the efforts required to stay
in China’s good graces are causing tensions with civil libertarians and
politicians at home.
He said Apple’s operations in the country began three
decades ago with a handful of employees. Today, it helps support more than 5
million jobs in China, including 1.8 million local mobile app developers, he
added.
Under Fire
Apple has come under fire for cooperating with Chinese
authorities in removing apps that give users there uncensored communications.
In November, Apple complied with government orders to pull Microsoft Corp.’s
Skype phone and video service from the Chinese version of its popular app
store. Cook used an earnings call with investors to justify such moves, saying
it obeyed the laws of the markets where it operates.
“Much has been said of the potential downsides of AI, but
I don’t worry about machines thinking like humans. I worry about people
thinking like machines,” he said. “We all have to work to infuse technology
with humanity, with our values.”
Technology of the future should have openness, creativity
and safeguards to protect users while providing privacy and decency, he added.
It’s a goal that, according to Cook’s Chinese hosts, can
only be accomplished through more laws and regulations that control what can be
shared online. Politburo member Wang Huning called for a global emergency
response team that would respond in times of crisis using new and undetermined
measures.
New Order
“What we propose is we should promote a controllable
security and build a new order,” Wang said through a translator. “Cybersecurity
is a serious challenge. Cyber crimes and cyber terrorism has grown more
rampant. The world’s destiny has become more intertwined in cyberspace.”
Unlike Cook, Google’s Pichai did not deliver a keynote
speech and was instead on a panel to discuss the digital economy. Confusion
among some of the conference staff on the ground meant many didn’t know when
the session would begin -- much of the vast hall remained empty partway through
the session.
Wuzhen holds special significance for the search giant,
whose AI program defeated the world’s top-ranked player of the ancient
board-game Go at the same venue earlier this year -- a point Pichai alluded to
as he promoted the company’s kit of AI software tools called TensorFlow.
“There are many small and medium businesses in China who
take advantage of Google to get their products to many other countries outside
of China,” he said. “Technology is giving opportunities at a global scale,
driving interconnectedness and cooperation and I think it’s a big trend and I
think it’s almost irreversible at this point.”
Other leading technology executives who took part include
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Chairman Jack Ma, Cisco Systems Inc.’s Chuck
Robbins, Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s Pony Ma and Baidu Inc. co-founder Robin Li.
— With assistance by David Ramli
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