China issues judicial guidelines for AI dispute resolution

The Supreme People's Court of China has issued the ‘Opinions on Lawfully Adjudicating Cases Involving Artificial Intelligence’ to establish judicial guidelines for AI-related disputes. The 24-article document aims to balance technological innovation with safety and legal regulation, addressing issues such as intellectual property, data protection, and consumer rights.

Key provisions include the allocation of liability among developers, providers, and users. For instance, users may be held responsible for intentionally inputting queries to create illegal content, while providers may face liability if they fail to block infringing results after being notified. Regarding data, the guidelines allow for the use of publicly available personal information for model training if the use is reasonable and the individual has not explicitly objected, though consent is required if the processing significantly impacts individual rights.

The regulations also address digital identity and reputation, requiring consent for creating identifiable digital images or mimicking voices. In intellectual property disputes, courts will evaluate the sources of training data and the level of creative contribution made to an AI solution. These guidelines come as China's AI core industry is projected to exceed 1.2 trillion yuan in output by 2025.