UN adopts Chinese resolution with US support on closing the gap in access to artificial intelligence

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations General Assembly adopted a Chinese-sponsored resolution with U.S. support urging wealthy developed nations to close the widening gap with poorer developing countries and ensure that they have equal opportunities to use and benefit from artificial intelligence.

The resolution approved Monday follows the March 21 adoption of the first U.N. resolution on artificial intelligence spearheaded by the United States and co-sponsored by 123 countries including China. It gave global support to the international effort to ensure that AI is “safe, secure and trustworthy” and that all nations can take advantage of it.

Adoption of the two non-binding resolutions shows that the United States and China, rivals in many areas, are both determined to be key players in shaping the future of this powerful new technology — and have been cooperating on these first important international steps.

The adoption of both resolutions by consensus by the 193-member General Assembly shows widespread global support for their leadership on the issue.

China’s U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong told reporters Monday that the two resolutions are complementary, with the U.S. measure being “more general” and the just-adopted one focusing on “capacity building.”

He called the Chinese resolution, which had over 140 sponsors, “great and far-reaching,” and said, “We’re very appreciative of the positive role that the U.S. has played in this whole process.”

Fu said AI technology is advancing extremely fast and the issue has been discussed at very senior levels, including by the U.S. and Chinese leaders.

“We do look forward to intensifying our cooperation with the United States and for that matter with all countries in the world on this issue, which … will have far-reaching implications in all dimensions,” he said.

The Chinese ambassador, however, strongly criticized the U.S. Treasury Department’s proposed rule, announced on June 21, that would restrict and monitor U.S. investments in China for artificial intelligence, computer chips and quantum computing.

“We are firmly opposed to these sanctions,” Fu said. China doesn’t believe the rule will be “helpful to the healthy development of the AI technology per se, and will, by extension, divide the world in terms of the standards, and in terms of the rules governing AI.” He called on the U.S. to lift the sanctions.

The Chinese resolution calls on the international community “to provide and promote a fair, open, inclusive and non-discriminatory business environment,” from AI’s design and development to its use. Fu said China doesn’t think the U.S. actions foster an inclusive business environment.

Both the U.S. and Chinese resolutions focus on the civilian applications of AI, but Fu told reporters the military dimension of artificial intelligence is also very important.

“We do believe that it is necessary for the international community to take measures to reduce the dangers and the risks posed by the development of AI,” he said.

China is actively participating in negotiations in Geneva on controlling lethal autonomous weapons, Fu said, adding that some countries are considering proposing a General Assembly resolution this year on the military dimension of AI — “and we are in broad support of that initiative.”

Both the U.S. and Chinese resolutions warned of the dangers of AI while also touting its potential benefits in promoting economic development and the lives of people everywhere.

The U.S. resolution recognizes that “the governance of artificial intelligence systems is an evolving area” that needs further discussions on possible governance approaches. It calls on countries to ensure that personal data is protected, human rights are safeguarded, and AI is monitored for potential risks.

Ambassador Fu, who headed the Foreign Ministry’s arms control department from 2018 to 2022, said China put forward the resolution because of the widening gap in AI technology between the developed North and developing South.

He said China also wanted to highlight the central role the United Nations should play in AI governance as “the most representative and most inclusive international forum.”

The Chinese resolution resolves “to bridge the artificial intelligence and other digital divides between and within countries,” and promote international cooperation, including sharing knowledge and transferring technology to developing countries.

FILE -Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations addresses members of the U.N. Security Council during a meeting on Non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, April 24, 2024 at United Nations headquarters. The United Nations General Assembly adopted a Chinese-sponsored resolution with U.S. support urging wealthy developed nations to close the widening gap with poorer developing countries and ensure that they have equal opportunities to use and benefit from artificial intelligence.Fu Cong told reporters Monday that the two resolutions are complementary, with the U.S. measure being “more general” and the just-adopted one focusing on “capacity building.”(AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File)

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A California man was convicted of murder with a hate crime enhancement Wednesday for the 2018 stabbing death of a gay University of Pennsylvania student.

Samuel Woodward, 26, was found guilty of first-degree murder plus the enhancement in the killing of Blaze Bernstein, a gay, Jewish college sophomore who was home visiting his family in Southern California on winter break when he went missing. Authorities scoured the area for him and found his body a week later in a shallow grave at a nearby park.

The question during the monthslong trial was not whether Woodward killed Bernstein but why, and the circumstances under which it happened.

During closing arguments, prosecutor Jennifer Walker emphasized Woodward's affiliation with a violent, anti-gay, antisemitic group known as Atomwaffen Division.

“This is a person focused on hate,” Walker said. “Not following, not being led by, influenced by, victimized by Atomwaffen — seeking it out.”

With the hate crime enhancement, Woodward could face a sentence of life without parole.

Ken Morrison, Woodward's attorney, sought at trial to show his client did not plan to kill Bernstein and did not hate anyone, in an effort for a conviction to be on a lesser charge such as second-degree murder or manslaughter.

Morrison, who plans to appeal after sentencing, said the judge made some key rulings that denied “jurors the ability to consider evidence critical to a fair trial.”

Woodward and Bernstein previously attended the same high school in Orange County and connected via a dating app in the months before the attack, according to testimony at trial. Woodward said he picked up Bernstein and went to a nearby park, and that he repeatedly stabbed Bernstein after trying to grab a cellphone he feared had been used to photograph him.

Prosecutors said Woodward joined Atomwaffen Division and repeatedly targeted gay men online by reaching out to them and then abruptly breaking off contact while keeping a hateful, profanity-laced journal of his actions. They said Woodward showed an interest in carrying out violent acts in the weeks before the killing and reached out to Bernstein online.

“Hate will never be tolerated here in Orange County — and instead of a symbol to be revered by other haters, he is a symbol of how society will never tolerate those who terrorize the most vulnerable members of our society,” county District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Wednesday in a statement.

Morrison told jurors that Woodward faced challenges in his personal relationships due to a long-undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder and was confused about his sexuality after growing up in a politically conservative and devout Catholic family where his father openly criticized homosexuality.

The case took years to go to trial after questions arose about Woodward’s mental state and following multiple changes in defense attorneys. Woodward was deemed competent to stand trial in late 2022.

Bernstein, who was 19 at the time, disappeared in January 2018 after he went out at night with Woodward to a park in Lake Forest, about 45 miles (70 km) southeast of Los Angeles. After Bernstein missed a dentist appointment the next day, his parents found his glasses, wallet and credit cards in his bedroom and tried to contact him, but he did not respond to texts or calls.

Authorities launched an exhaustive search and said Bernstein’s family scoured his social media and saw he had communicated with Woodward on Snapchat. Authorities said Woodward told the family that Bernstein had gone off to meet a friend in the park that night and did not return.

Days later Bernstein’s body was found in the shallow grave. He had been repeatedly stabbed in the face and neck.

Authorities said they searched Woodward’s family home in Newport Beach and found a folding knife with a bloodied blade in his room. They also found a black Atomwaffen mask with traces of blood and a host of anti-gay, antisemitic and hate group materials, prosecutors said.

Ding reported from Los Angeles.

FILE - Samuel Woodward testifies in Orange County Superior Court, June 13, 2024, in Santa Ana, Calif. Woodward has been convicted of murder in the killing of a gay University of Pennsylvania student in a 2018 stabbing for an act of hate. Woodward, 26, was found guilty Wednesday, July 3, of first-degree murder for the killing of Blaze Bernstein. (Leonard Orti/The Orange County Register via AP, Pool, File)

FILE - Samuel Woodward leaves a court hearing at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach, Calif., Aug. 22, 2018. Woodward has been convicted of murder in the killing of a gay University of Pennsylvania student in a 2018 stabbing for an act of hate. Woodward, 26, was found guilty Wednesday, July 3, 2024, of first-degree murder for the killing of Blaze Bernstein. (Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register/SCNG via AP, Pool, File)