The Yuan requests your support! Our content will now be available free of charge for all registered subscribers, consistent with our mission to make AI a human commons accessible to all. We are therefore requesting donations from our readers so we may continue bringing you insightful reportage of this awesome technology that is sweeping the world. Donate now
China, US Break Ahead of the Pack in Race for AI Hegemony
By Jack Kotin, Ben Armour  |  Apr 06, 2022
China, US Break Ahead of the Pack in Race for AI Hegemony
Image courtesy of and under license from Shutterstock.com
China and the United States have officially locked horns in a contest of titans to determine which superpower will emerge as the world’s foremost leader in artificial intelligence. Ben Armour and Jack Kotin, editors and contributors at The Yuan, break down the current situation and predict what the future may hold.

BOSTON AND LONDON - The rivalry that has been simmering between China and the United States, the world’s two leaders in developing artificial intelligence (AI) technology, is now nearing the boiling point as the two countries’ lines of battle become drawn ever more clearly in policy documents, white papers, and intelligence bulletins.

The US has advantages such as leading hardware, research, and talent, whereas China has unparalleled masses of AI-ready data at its disposal to drive technological development, a strong will to succeed in its quest for primacy, and a head start in its already widespread deployment and adoption of many digital technologies.

Since 2017, China has been producing more AI scholarly research than the US. But in 2020, for the first time, China also surpassed it in AI-related journal citations, according to last year’s Stanford University AI Index Report.

“Citations measure whether the ideas you’re putting out are novel and have impact - not just that you have a lot of researchers pumping out publications,” said Michael Sellitto, Stanford University Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence deputy director and a member of its AI Index steering committee. “The data suggests that China is making more contributions to basic AI knowledge now, a qualitative improvement,” per the Stanford report.

“I don’t think they’ll be number one, because I think there’s still a level of genius and creativity in Silicon Valley that persists and will always persist,” Breyer Capital founder Jim Breyer told CNBC, likening the two superpowers’ AI rivalry to the US-Soviet space race of the 1950s.

In June 2020, San Francisco-based independent AI research lab OpenAI announced the launch of its GPT-3, the third generation of its massive Generative Pre-trained Transformer language model, which can write computer code, poetry, and everything in between, various media reported at the time.

The content herein is subject to copyright by The Yuan. All rights reserved. The content of the services is owned or licensed to The Yuan. Such content from The Yuan may be shared and reprinted but must clearly identify The Yuan as its original source. Content from a third-party copyright holder identified in the copyright notice contained in such third party’s content appearing in The Yuan must likewise be clearly labeled as such.
Continue reading
Sign up now to read this story for free.
- or -
Continue with Linkedin Continue with Google
Comments
Share your thoughts.
The Yuan wants to hear your voice. We welcome your on-topic commentary, critique, and expertise. All comments are moderated for civility.