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The Future of A.I. Is (Probably) Chinese
The fight over Huawei was just the prelude to a global battle for artificial intelligence supremacy
The Sino-American relationship has been quite a roller coaster this year, courtesy of the belligerent occupant of the White House.
With its technical and operational superiority in 5G mobile networks (the vital infrastructure for technologies like A.I. and the Internet of Things), Huawei might be an avatar for China itself: ambitious, future-focused, and a serious threat to U.S. exceptionalism. The deluge of American complaints about Huawei being a national security risk (due to its links to the Chinese state) should be recognized for what it is: cover for the United States to engage in economic warfare, throwing its significant weight around to help ensure Huawei is blacklisted across the globe.
The desperation of the U.S. efforts reflects a cold truth about the international competition in technology, and A.I. in particular: China is opening up a lead. Following their public commitment in 2017 to develop world leadership in A.I. by 2030, China has backed up its strategy with several billion dollars’ worth of funding and a cohesive bureaucratic effort to manage the plan’s execution. This outpouring of investment is already bearing tangible fruit, from cutting-edge computer vision technology to new kinds of autonomous drone swarms.
With the benefit of a command-and-control economy, China has created an environment tailored to provide as few barriers possible to technology companies. Rules like data privacy and antitrust are only selectively enforced by the state; as with many things in China, there is one rule for friends of the Party and another for the rest. This is all bright news for China’s champions of A.I. development: Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba. Not only do they enjoy the fruits of the investment tethered to the Chinese 2030 strategy, but they are also able to develop their technology without scrutiny from a hostile media.
Data is food for A.I. systems.
Just two years since that 2017 announcement, a wide range of indicators herald the success of China’s efforts so far. PwC has predicted that A.I. will account for a $16 trillion boost to…
