Through the Alliance, Hoffman hopes to strengthen communication and cooperation, explore how technology can facilitate trade and address global challenges.
On September 24, during the Fifth Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE), Steve Hoffman, Founder and CEO of Silicon Valley-based Founders Space and American Honorary Chairperson of the Global New Industrial Revolution Alliance (NIRA) — often hailed in Chinese media as the “Godfather of Silicon Valley Startups” and widely known as “Captain Hoff” — spoke with CCTV, CGTN, and Zhejiang media outlets about his motivation for joining NIRA and the international cooperation he hopes to advance through the Global Call for AI × SDG Best Practices 2026.
Hoffman said he accepted the invitation to serve as NIRA’s American Honorary Chairperson because he hopes to act as a “bridge” between China and the United States, particularly in the field of technology. He noted that as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into society and everyday life, greater dialogue and cooperation are needed to explore how technology can be used responsibly to benefit humanity and create a safe environment in which society can flourish.
Speaking about NIRA’s areas of focus, Hoffman emphasized that major challenges — including technology safety, climate change and war — require sustained international dialogue. Through the Alliance, he hopes to strengthen communication and cooperation, explore how technology can facilitate trade and address global challenges, and help create a more stable environment for social development.
As a judge for the Global Call for AI × SDG Best Practices 2026, Hoffman noted that best practices should focus on clearly defined problems and deliver tangible results. He suggested bringing together representatives from industry, technology and government to advance the application of AI in areas such as education, pollution control and clean energy. Examples include using new technologies to expand access to education in rural communities, reduce plastic pollution in the oceans, and promote cleaner transportation and energy solutions.
Hoffman also stressed that these challenges cannot be addressed by any one country alone. He expressed hope for stronger China-U.S. cooperation, combining China’s strengths in areas such as supply chains with the strengths of U.S. technology companies in markets, research and capital to drive tangible progress toward sustainable development.
The below text has been compiled from on-site recordings of the relevant interviews and has not been reviewed by Mr. Hoffman.
Q: And you have just received invitation as American Honorary Chairperson of the Global New Industry Revolution Alliance and you will serve as a judge for the Global Call for AI Sustainable Development Best Bractices this year.And what kind of international collaboration do you hope to advance through these two roles?
A: I signed on as Honorary Chairman of the Global New Industrial Revolution Alliance for one reason, because I see my role as bridging China and the United States, especially in the areas of technology. How do we use technology responsibly? How do we use technology to benefit all of humanity? And how can we increase communication and cooperation so that as we move into a future where AI technology becomes exponentially more powerful and integrated into everything we do, how can we use this for creating an environment - an safe environment for our societies to flourish? How can we use it to increase trade? This is what I want to do with our new Alliance: how can we use it to address the most critical problems we face on earth? For me, these problems are the safety of our technology, climate change and war. How can we use it to prevent war and create greater stability, greater cooperation, better communication? I believe we can only do that through dialogue. And that is why I'm part of the Alliance.
Best practices, practical results start with very clear focus. So what we want to do is bring together industry leaders, technology leaders, government leaders together so that they can plan out different initiatives. So these initiatives can be in the area of education: how do we better educate people, especially people in rural communities, using our new technology like AI? How can we help reduce pollution? You know, our oceans are filled with plastics. We can solve these problems with the technology we have. But we need to do it in a cooperative fashion. No one nation can do it alone. So the United States, and China, both of us, we have to lead the way. How can we come together and make cleaner vehicles, new energy sources? Right now, China has taken the lead in EVs, and clean energy production with solar. It's amazing that the cost is coming down so fast! How can we go to the next level? How can we replace fossil fuels with hundred percent clean energy sources?It is totally doable if we cooperate, if we leverage the advantages of China with its supply chain, and the advantages of the technology companies of the United States with its markets, its research, its capital. That is where we want to take this.
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