the sino-us "generation z" debate exchange conference was successfully held in new york, the united states
2024-09-13
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china daily president and editor-in-chief qu yingpu (sixth from right), bank of china usa president and china general chamber of commerce - usa hu wei (fifth from left), chinese deputy consul general in new york ma xiaoxiao (sixth from left), and george w. bush foundation for u.s.-china relations president david firestein (fifth from right) presented souvenirs to eight young debaters from china and the united states.
china daily online, september 13th. on the afternoon of september 12th local time in the united states, the china-us "generation z" debate and exchange event with the theme of "the future of chinese and american youth" hosted by china daily 21st century newspaper was successfully held in new york.
the event kicked off with the beautiful music of the guzheng piece "forbidden city·yaoguang" played by professor ji wei, a famous young chinese guzheng player. eight "generation z" from china and the united states were divided into two teams and launched a fierce debate on the topic of "does artificial intelligence have more benefits or disadvantages for human society?", bringing a feast of ideas to about 200 audiences from all over the world.
the affirmative team consists of hong kong youth mak ho-ting, who is studying at stanford university, chinese youth lui sin-yi from columbia university, liam green from george washington university, and american youth amelia yuan from new york university shanghai. in their argument, the affirmative team stated that artificial intelligence has shown significant positive impacts in many fields, including economic growth, scientific research, environmental protection, and medical progress. they mentioned that artificial intelligence is expected to make a huge positive contribution to the global economy and play an important role in materials science and green energy transformation. in addition, the prediction accuracy of artificial intelligence in climate science has been significantly improved, and in the field of medicine, artificial intelligence technology has also greatly promoted the development of cancer detection and protein research. in the closing statement, the affirmative team stated that despite the existence of unknown risks, the overall positive impact of artificial intelligence still outweighs these risks. they emphasized that technological innovations in history are often accompanied by the emergence of new jobs and new industries, and artificial intelligence will also create new opportunities and development prospects. at the same time, although this technology faces challenges, such as algorithmic bias and network security issues, these are not insurmountable. the affirmative team called for maximizing the positive impact of artificial intelligence technology and improving the quality of human life through international cooperation and innovation.
the opposing team consists of american youth regan slattery, who is studying at new york university in shanghai, chinese youth huang boling from stanford university, chinese youth wang zixin from harvard kennedy school of government, and johanna costigan, research and editorial assistant of asia society policy institute (aspi). in their argument, the opposing team stated that the potential negative impact of artificial intelligence currently clearly outweighs its positive impact. they pointed out that there are serious ethical and regulatory issues in the actual application of artificial intelligence. for example, the lagging industry supervision has led to the industry's neglect of issues such as deep fake technology and cybersecurity threats. in addition, in the absence of clear regulations, companies often prioritize profits over safety and ethics, which increases the risk of technology being abused. at the same time, the impact of artificial intelligence on the labor market cannot be ignored. low-skilled and low-paid workers are at risk of unemployment, and global inequality will be further exacerbated. in the closing statement, the opposing team believes that although artificial intelligence has the potential for positive change, the negative impact at this stage is very significant, such as insufficient supervision and inequality in the job market caused by artificial intelligence. they stressed that the current application of artificial intelligence technology has not effectively solved these negative problems, and may even lead to greater social problems due to lack of supervision and increased inequality. the opposing side called for stricter regulatory measures and policies to mitigate the negative impact of technology and ensure a balance between technological development and social interests.
during the large-scale exchange session, young people from china and the united states had heated discussions on topics such as "reflections and exploration of ways for china and the united states to avoid the thucydides trap" and "how the chinese and american people can avoid the constraints of information cocoons to achieve better communication."
lin lele said that china-us relations are one of the most important bilateral relations in the world, and the relationship between the two countries can only be improved and not damaged. china and the united states should avoid the thucydides trap, and the young people of the two countries should be brave enough to take responsibility, look to the future, start from the practical aspects, and contribute their youthful strength to the healthy development of bilateral relations.
lv xinyi said that the information cocoon effect is not conducive to the mutual understanding between the chinese and american people, and may even easily lead to many misunderstandings and misjudgments. the media of both countries should be responsible to their audiences, become reliable information providers, and become boosters of the healthy development of bilateral relations.
huang said that the biggest obstacle to sino-us relations lies in cultural misunderstanding and prejudice. through her personal experience between chinese and american cultures, she revealed how such misunderstandings affect the relationship between the two countries. she believes that by strengthening cultural exchange programs and maintaining open government communication channels, these cultural barriers can be effectively addressed and mutual understanding and cooperation between the two countries can be promoted.
the moderator, james b. heimowitz, former president of the china institute and chairman of the confucius institute in america, and the guest commentator, liu keming, professor at the city university of new york, spoke highly of the commitment, sense of responsibility, foresight, wisdom and ability of the young people of china and the united states.
mr. he zhiming was one of the first american students to study in china in the 1980s. over the past 40 years, he has frequently traveled between china and the united states, accumulating rich cross-cultural experience. regarding this event, he commented that the outstanding performance of the debaters in academic research, social practice and international exchanges indicates that the future cooperation between china and the united states in various fields is full of hope. the comprehensive ability and international vision demonstrated by the young people of the two countries will lay a solid foundation for the future development of sino-us relations.
professor liu keming also highly praised the debaters for their broad knowledge and in-depth research capabilities. she especially praised the young people from china and the united states for not only excelling in their respective academic and professional fields, but also showing extraordinary insight and wisdom in international affairs. in addition, professor liu reiterated the importance of debate as a time-honored and effective way of communication, and called for the principle of "accepting differences and maintaining dialogue" to promote deeper understanding and broader consensus in the current political environment.
it is reported that china daily youth channel's studios and columns such as "the future of china and the united states lies in youth", "youth living room" and "qingping" will successively launch a series of videos related to the event.
source: china daily
