White Paper on Artificial Intelligence Standardization 2021

Summary

Improve the working mechanism to promote AI standardization through the National Information Technology Standardization Technical Committee’s AI Technical Subcommittee.

Develop key AI standards based on principles such as “advantages first, maturity first,” focusing on performance benchmarks and hardware virtual interfaces.

Carry out pilot demonstrations to strengthen AI standardization promotion by selecting national innovation zones for standard application demonstrations.

Create de facto standards to enhance industry competitiveness by promoting AI standards through large-scale applications and integrating them into major projects and open-source communities.

Strengthen international exchanges by connecting with organizations like ISO/IEC JTC 1, participating in international AI standards formulation, and hosting AI-related conferences to promote Chinese contributions globally.

Proposes key recommendations for China's AI standardization work based on technology and industry development.

5. Key recommendations for AI standardization work Based on the current state of AI technology and industry development, together with the progress of standardization work and the establishment of the standards system, we propose key work recommendations for China’s AI standardization.

Promotes AI standardization through collaboration among government, industry, academia, and research institutes.

(1) Improve the working mechanism and help industry to achieve healthy and sustainable development AI is deeply integrated into the real economy, and the standardization of AI is exhibiting a trend of collaborative participation in multiple fields. First, through the National Information Technology Standardization Technical Committee’s AI Technical Subcommittee (SAC/TC 28/SC 42), the standardization of new generation information technology fields such as AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and big data should be coordinated and promoted to strengthen the application of AI in vertical fields. Second, the role of the national AI standardization working group platform should be given full play to coordinate the development of AI standards in the real economy and related fields, and to absorb the energy of government, industry, academia, research institutes, and users to jointly promote AI standardization.

Promotes developing AI standards prioritizing advantages, maturity, basics, and application-driven approaches.

(2) Develop key standards and improve the AI standards system The development of key AI standards must be promoted based on the principles of “advantages first, maturity first, lead with basics, and be application-driven.” The first is to consolidate the industrial foundation with a focus on the development of standards such as performance benchmarks, hardware virtual interfaces, and development framework compatibility specifications. The second is to support industrial applications and develop a number of industrial application standards around areas with a certain industrial scale, such as intelligent speech and computer vision. The third is to promote integrated development with the goal of supporting the deep integration of AI into the real economy and to develop a batch of industry application standards for applications such as smart transportation, smart healthcare, and smart classrooms.

Promotes AI standardization through demonstrations, compliance assessment, and a public technology service platform.

(3) Carry out pilot demonstrations to improve industrial service capabilities China’s AI standardization work is progressing steadily, and relevant standards are being successively released. Governments and relevant departments at all levels must play a guiding role to strengthen the promotion of AI standardization. The first is to carry out propaganda and promotion activities around key standards such as machine learning models and machine translation capability evaluations, combining the application of standards with the development of the AI industry. The second is to promote the construction of a standard compliance assessment system, focusing on selecting national AI innovation application pilot zones and national new generation AI innovation development test zones to carry out standard application demonstrations. The third is to build an AI standardization public technology service platform, improve the service capability of standardization for industry, and support basic and general purpose technology research and development, third-party evaluations, and other such work.

Creates de facto AI standards to enhance industry competitiveness through large-scale promotion and applications.

(4) Create de facto standards (事实标准) and enhance industry competitiveness A de facto standard is the assassin's mace (杀手锏) of industry competition. By summarizing the outreach experience of information technology standards such as DCMM, ITSS, and CMMI, a cultivation model should be explored for China’s de facto AI standards. By combining major works and major projects around the open-source community and new infrastructure construction, and through consulting on training, testing and evaluation, product certification, and other means, standards should be promoted with large-scale promotion and applications to create a batch of de facto AI standards.

Strengthens international AI standards participation, contributes Chinese insights, and hosts conferences to enhance cooperation.

(5) Strengthen international exchanges and promote the global promotion of Chinese wisdom The first is to actively connect with international standards organizations such as ISO/IEC JTC 1 and continue to strengthen participation in AI international standards. The second is to rely on the National Artificial Intelligence Standardization General Working Group and the National Information Technology Standardization Technical Committee Artificial Intelligence Technical Subcommittee to organize the participation of domestic standardization institutions and enterprises in the formulation and revision of international standards and to contribute Chinese wisdom to international standard proposals. The third is to support domestic experts in assuming the positions of secretary and convener in the International Organization for Standardization to enhance the right to speak internationally. The fourth is to actively host international conferences and forums related to AI, deepen bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the field of AI, and achieve mutual benefits.