Notice how the ethical dimensions in Chinese approaches are intimately grounded in the context of practice, as compared to a Kantian notion of definitive or categorical rules. That is, it is through action in real situations that must shape our ethical dispositions. The west did have such a tradition, by way of Aristotle’s Nichomachian Ethics, but this was pushed aside by Kant. The west could do well to return to its pre-Kantian traditions.
Thank you for the engagement. You are right in a sense. This report is written by and largely for technologists, so it does not place much emphasis on that dimension of development. That said, if you have followed my analyses of China tech elsewhere, regulation is very much an area where China intends to lead. The underlying belief is actually aligned with yours: that clear boundaries can clarify expectations and, in practice, accelerate entrepreneurship.
I would like to understand the role of these type of reports in the decision making process for public policy in China. Either it is just a 0) symptom of the times (foam on top of the wave) or to be taken from a more consequential perspective: 1) reinforcing the legitimacy of policy lines or; 2) to be taken as informing those lines. Or maybe… all of the three?. Any thoughts ?
PS : thanks for your time and effort summarising and sharing your ideas on it.
Excellent essay. I have recently been writing about process knowledge and touched upon some of these elements—mainly progressions towards autonomous systems and agents
very optimistic timelines IMO. I think we are just entering another era of techno-optimism, I am sure people in 1975 expected 2000 to look a lot different than it did
But its good to get it down on paper and really visualise it all. might take a few more decades but we will eventually get there
Notice how the ethical dimensions in Chinese approaches are intimately grounded in the context of practice, as compared to a Kantian notion of definitive or categorical rules. That is, it is through action in real situations that must shape our ethical dispositions. The west did have such a tradition, by way of Aristotle’s Nichomachian Ethics, but this was pushed aside by Kant. The west could do well to return to its pre-Kantian traditions.
Hah, I was just AI-educating myself on Kant last week!
Interesting framing but I think the key axis is missing.
Autonomy doesn’t scale linearly with intelligence. What actually bottlenecks is authority, liability, and recovery when things go wrong.
“L5 agents” aren’t blocked by capability. They’re blocked by who absorbs failure.
Thank you for the engagement. You are right in a sense. This report is written by and largely for technologists, so it does not place much emphasis on that dimension of development. That said, if you have followed my analyses of China tech elsewhere, regulation is very much an area where China intends to lead. The underlying belief is actually aligned with yours: that clear boundaries can clarify expectations and, in practice, accelerate entrepreneurship.
Very interesting. As a social scientist, others, it seems, will have to work out how society will adapt to this.
Great post. I predict that Western media will invoke their omertà policy and ignore this, as they have always done for positive developments in China.
I would like to understand the role of these type of reports in the decision making process for public policy in China. Either it is just a 0) symptom of the times (foam on top of the wave) or to be taken from a more consequential perspective: 1) reinforcing the legitimacy of policy lines or; 2) to be taken as informing those lines. Or maybe… all of the three?. Any thoughts ?
PS : thanks for your time and effort summarising and sharing your ideas on it.
thanks for your article on this, I don't know where else we would ever hear it summarized so well
Excellent essay. I have recently been writing about process knowledge and touched upon some of these elements—mainly progressions towards autonomous systems and agents
very optimistic timelines IMO. I think we are just entering another era of techno-optimism, I am sure people in 1975 expected 2000 to look a lot different than it did
But its good to get it down on paper and really visualise it all. might take a few more decades but we will eventually get there