Chinese tech giants are making significant strides to catch up with their US counterparts in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots. As the world’s second-largest economy, China is projected to invest a staggering $15 billion (€13.5 billion) in AI projects this year alone, marking a nearly 50 percent increase in just two years.
While the US and UK are known for hosting advanced AI labs, some experts had already predicted that China would eventually surpass the US as an AI superpower. One such expert, Taiwanese computer scientist and tech executive Kai-Fu Lee, asserted back in 2018 that China’s AI technology had already moved beyond the innovation stage and was now at the implementation stage. He credited China’s edge to years of state surveillance, which enabled the accumulation of vast amounts of data that AI platforms leverage for learning.
However, critics of Lee’s viewpoint argue that the AI revolution is still in its early stages, and the US retains a key advantage in terms of big innovations. Pedro Domingos, a professor emeritus at the University of Washington, highlights that large data sets may have diminishing returns, and diversity in data matters. He suggests that Europe’s data could be more valuable for learning, as it is more diverse than China’s.
Tensions between the US and China have escalated, leading to export curbs on advanced memory chips crucial for Chinese AI language models. This move aims to limit China’s access to cutting-edge AI systems, which require specialized hardware. Nonetheless, Chinese tech firms are likely to invest heavily in improving domestic semiconductor capabilities to mitigate the impact of the ban.
In addition to the chip curbs, the US open-sourcing its machine learning platforms poses a challenge. While export controls were introduced, the risk remains that the AI models can be copied and modified, making the restrictions ineffective.
Despite China’s AI advancements, there are significant obstacles the country needs to overcome. President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on the tech sector may make Chinese executives more risk-averse. Additionally, censorship and restrictions on content pose limitations on AI models’ learning potential, as vast amounts of missing data hinder progress. Furthermore, China faces a talent exodus, as skilled workers in the AI field are in demand globally and may prefer to work in more democratic societies.
Despite these challenges, China is undeterred and continues to move full steam ahead in developing AI technologies. For the democratic world, the race to lead in AI is crucial, as China’s dominance in this field could have significant political, economic, and military implications.
