China a leading player in internet infrastructure, technology: World Internet Conference vice chairman

Francis Gurry, vice chairman of the World Internet Conference (WIC) and former director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), takes an interview with People’s Daily Online at the 2023 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, in Wuzhen, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Nov. 9, 2023. (People’s Daily Online/Chang Sha)

The past decade of the Wuzhen Summit and China’s internet progress mirror the country’s “meteoric rise,” Francis Gurry, vice chairman of the World Internet Conference (WIC) and former director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), told People’s Daily Online during the 2023 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit.

The WIC Wuzhen Summit, running from Nov. 8 to 10 in Wuzhen, a town in Jiaxing, east China’s Zhejiang Province, marks its 10th anniversary this year.

China has been an extraordinary builder of internet-related infrastructure and a leading player for rolling out relevant technologies, and has seen internet-based enterprises boom, particularly over the past ten years, he noted.

“I think the WIC is establishing a great name for itself worldwide,” Gurry said, adding that the conference can contribute to the building of soft law to guide humanity in areas such as ethics, bias of artificial intelligence (AI), and addiction to social media.

He noted AI will have a huge impact on every aspect of human society, believing that “what technologies do as a whole is they do not necessarily replace employment, but displace employment” and in turn, humanity is “being pushed towards higher performance.”

As a technological optimist, he thinks what really matters is how humans use technologies, while technologies themselves are not inherently good or bad.

According to statistics released by the International Telecommunication Union in Sept. 2023, about one third of the global population, or 2.6 billion people, have no access to the internet.

“People who are digitally deprived will really suffer for education, culture, medicine, governmental services, and everything,” he said, noting that actions have been taken to address this problem, including satellite-facilitated infrastructure construction.

As for the highlight of this year’s event, Gurry mentioned the Global Youth Leadership Program, an activity that is being launched for the first time. A total of 18 young representatives from 14 countries and regions will showcase the new blood in the world internet sector.

“Youth are the digital natives, and they are born with the internet,” he said, emphasizing young people’s intuitive perception about how the internet may exert its influence.

Though there are challenges ahead concerning the development of the internet, such as security, misinformation, and protection of vulnerable groups, he believes that humans should view the prospects of the internet in an optimistic manner.