China-led AI bloc could narrow digital divide, expand global influenceAs China launches the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO) to support AI training in developing countries, academics offer contrasting views on how it could extend Beijing’s global influence, much like the Belt and Road, while warning how it may intensify rivalry with the US-led Pax Silica initiative. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres attends the World AI Cooperation Organisation (WAICO) in Shanghai, China on 17 July. The deputy prime ministers of Kazakhstan, Laos, and Pakistan, and other dignitaries were also present, as some of the founding members of WAICO. Image: United Nations in China