Fireside Chat | Schmidt and Shen Xiangyang Discuss AI: Pursue Development through Competition, Uphold Bottom Lines through Cooperation

On July 26th, at the opening ceremony of the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), Harry Shum, former executive vice president of Microsoft, as the host, had a multi-dimensional dialogue about the development of artificial intelligence with Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google. This conversation that took place in Shanghai focused on the global competition and cooperation in the era of artificial intelligence, and also reflected the two technology leaders' personal experiences and understandings of technological changes over the decades.

As the former leaders of two technology giants, Google and Microsoft, Schmidt and Harry Shum are not only important promoters of technological innovation but also witnesses of global business competition. From the PC era to the Internet, from cloud computing to AI, they have always been at the forefront of technological waves. Now, the two are jointly exploring the future of AI, which is not only a continuation of technological evolution but also a prelude to global governance issues.

Artificial intelligence is regarded as an epoch - making technology not only because it shows extraordinary potential in understanding, generation, reasoning and other aspects, but also because it begins to influence social governance, ethical order and the global pattern. The development of this technology has far exceeded the scope of engineering or business. When discussing AI governance, the two speakers not only brought first - hand experiences from technology and corporate management but also incorporated their thinking in the fields of governance, philosophy and international relations.

The conversation pointed out that in the stage of rapid AI development without clear rules, the key lies in "who and by what means should set the boundaries of AI technology", and this process must be completed through trans - national cooperation with a clear consensus on values.

Develop through competition and maintain the bottom line through cooperation.

As two sides of the same coin, how should competition and cooperation be considered? Schmidt pointed out that he had fierce competition with Microsoft and Apple during his time at Google, but this competition promoted the overall progress of the industry.

Schmidt also quoted Henry Kissinger's view to explain his opinion on Sino - US cooperation in AI: "As long as both sides have common goals, they can reach an agreement." He gave an example that the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States started from scratch back then, and as long as there is a consensus, trust can be established. He believes that the current AI issues can be handled in a similar way.

He pointed out that some key issues must be discussed. "We should sit down and clarify them," such as whether AI can control weapons, replicate itself and learn automatically.

To make AI follow the rules, we first need to figure out what the rules are.

Regarding AI governance, Schmidt believes that the most core issue is values.

He believes that China and the United States already have some communication mechanisms, but the current problem is that there is no way to make AI "follow the rules" completely. A US study shows that with a little guidance, AI models will still lie and cheat. He proposed an ideal state where AI "will never learn to do bad things" from the training stage.

Openness promotes progress but also brings security risks.

During his tenure as CEO of Google, Schmidt led the open - source strategy of the Android system. He believes that open - source allows more people to participate, which is beneficial to technological development. However, open - source also has clear risks. Once it is open - sourced, anyone can use it. Moreover, the security restrictions of open - source models can be removed, while closed - source models are generally managed by companies and are relatively more controllable.

At the 2021 World Artificial Intelligence Conference four years ago, 98 - year - old Kissinger expressed his deep concern about AI development in an interview with Harry Shum, emphasizing that human destiny and dignity must occupy a central position in technological evolution. He called on the world to find a balance between excitement and vigilance and make AI truly a tool serving humanity.

This concept also runs through the book "Genesis" published in November 2024, written by Kissinger, Schmidt and Craig Mundie, the former chief research and strategy officer of Microsoft. The book proposes that AI may be an important node in the evolution of human civilization, but it must be placed under the framework of philosophy, ethics and governance to bring real well - being to society.