Not everyone is able to travel to Dunhuang in person to admire its cave art and exquisite murals, yet digital and intelligent technologies are giving more people around the world the chance to learn about Dunhuang, said Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The 2026 International Copyright Forum, jointly hosted by China's National Copyright Administration and WIPO, was recently held in Dunhuang, Gansu Province. With the theme "Copyright and the Creative Industries in the Digital-Intelligent Era 鈥?Protecting Cultural Heritage, Empowering Innovation and Creation," the forum held dialogues on topics including the copyright opportunities and challenges brought by 人工智能 (AI), the protection and revitalization of cultural heritage, and the development of the creative economy.
As a meeting point of civilizations on the ancient Silk Road, Dunhuang witnessed exchanges and mutual learning among different cultures and gave rise to brilliant artistic creation. Today, the rapid development of digital and intelligent technologies is profoundly changing the way culture is inherited, innovated and disseminated. What inspiration does millennia-old Dunhuang offer for creativity in the digital-intelligent era? How will intellectual property promote exchanges among civilizations? In an exclusive interview with China News Service in Dunhuang, WIPO Director General Daren Tang elaborated on cultural inheritance, technological innovation and the protection of human creativity.
The 2026 International Copyright Forum, jointly hosted by China's National Copyright Administration and WIPO, opened in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, on November 2, where Tang delivered remarks at the opening ceremony.
Reporter: For thousands of years, different cultures met and blended in Dunhuang, giving birth to unique artistic creation. In the digital-intelligent era, what inspiration do the civilizational exchanges and creative wisdom embodied by Dunhuang offer for today's copyright protection and the development of the creative industries?
Daren Tang: Dunhuang has always been a place where different civilizations met and merged. People from China, Central Asia, West Asia and even Europe traded here, bringing not only goods but also their own stories, knowledge, beliefs and different ways of seeing the world. Trade created connections between people, but the significance of these connections goes far beyond commerce itself. It is precisely through contact, exchange and interaction among different groups that new ideas are continually generated, different perspectives merge with one another, and ultimately a unique culture is born. This still holds important lessons for us today.
For a culture to remain vital, it needs exchange and interaction. The copyright system can help different cultures engage with one another more confidently while maintaining their own characteristics and identity. Especially in the era of digital technology and AI, creators need such confidence: that their works can be protected, and that they can obtain reasonable returns through copyright protection and licensing so as to keep creating. Protecting creators is also safeguarding the endless creativity of culture.
Reporter: In recent years, the Dunhuang Academy has used digital and intelligent technologies to let ancient culture transcend time and space and reach the world. When traditional culture enters digital space and becomes material for AI learning, how can cultural dissemination, innovative use and rights protection be balanced?
Daren Tang: "Digital Dunhuang" is an excellent example of technology empowering the protection and dissemination of cultural heritage. Not everyone can visit Dunhuang in person to admire its cave art and exquisite murals, but digital and intelligent technologies give more people around the world the opportunity to learn about Dunhuang. This is exactly where the value of technology in serving cultural heritage lies.
In China, we also see more and more traditional culture reaching international audiences through new media formats. For example, games such as Black Myth: Wukong introduce Chinese literature, history, culture and related historical sites to audiences around the world through the modern medium of video games. If used well, digital technology can become a bridge, connecting different groups in new ways and allowing Chinese culture and Chinese stories to reach more global audiences. The key is that technology should empower culture, cultural heritage and human creators, and always keep people at the center of the intellectual property system.
Reporter: Today, AI is changing the way content is produced, and China's online literature, games, film and television, and animation are also continuously expanding into international markets. How do you view the challenges AI brings to the copyright system, and China's role in the development of the global creative economy?
Daren Tang: AI is reshaping the way people create, disseminate and consume content. It is not just a technology; it may profoundly change human production and life, much like printing or electricity. The copyright issues that follow are very real. For example, should AI companies pay for using the works of writers, artists and other creators to train models? After AI generates music, artworks and other content, who should own the related rights and economic benefits? These questions are all complex. We need to find an appropriate balance between supporting technological innovation and protecting creators' rights.
At the same time, we should not see AI only as a challenge; we should also see it as an opportunity to empower and support a new generation of creators. One basic principle should be very clear: human creators must always remain at the center of the copyright and intellectual property system. Technology should not replace people or push them to the margins; it should empower, assist and support human creativity. We must also avoid AI ultimately leading to cultural homogenization. In the AI era, different civilizations and cultures should still maintain their diversity and continue to flourish. If AI can learn from material from different regions and cultures around the world, then when it takes part in new artistic expression, it can also draw on more diverse cultural resources rather than relying on only one cultural source.
China offers a very interesting case of how the creative economy, cultural heritage and the digital economy can be combined. We have already seen that some Chinese digital platforms are introducing Chinese culture to other parts of the world through new content forms such as films, music and stories. In fact, this is also a global trend. For example, Poland's The Witcher game series draws inspiration from the country's history, culture and stories; some animation and gaming companies in Saudi Arabia are also introducing their national culture to the world through digital content. We are seeing a new integration of the creative economy, cultural heritage and digital technology. This integration not only brings new cultural experiences to audiences but also creates new jobs, sources of income and economic opportunities. I believe this will become an important part of the next stage of development of the global creative economy.
Reporter: The ancient Silk Road crossed mountains and seas, promoting exchanges and mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations. Today, digital networks allow cultural creativity to spread globally in an instant. If digital networks have built a "digital Silk Road," what should the intellectual property system most need to protect in the future?
Daren Tang: Creation and expression are a very important part of human nature. From ancient cave art to stone tools to musical instruments made of bone, humans have been creating for tens of thousands of years, and perhaps even earlier. The important role of the copyright system is to support this innate human spirit of creation and expression. Even in the era of AI and digital technology, the copyright system must continue to support this spirit. Otherwise, we may lose something extremely precious and fundamental to humanity.
Technology will keep changing. Even if AI may be a major technological transformation seen only once in centuries, it is ultimately still a technology; whereas the human creative spirit has been with us for hundreds of thousands of years, and compared with any specific technology, it is more fundamental and more enduring. Therefore, the role of the intellectual property system is not to reject or exclude new technologies, but to ensure that these technologies ultimately serve human creation, expression and connection, making technology a force that supports human creativity rather than replaces it.
About the interviewee: Daren Tang is Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization. He began his first six-year term as WIPO Director General on October 1, 2020; he was reappointed on April 21, 2026, and his second term runs from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2032. Before joining WIPO, he served as Chief Executive of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, transforming it from a traditional intellectual property registration agency into an innovation agency, strengthening Singapore's intellectual property ecosystem and enhancing international cooperation.
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