I’m on record agreeing with those who warn it’s imperative that the United States maintain its lead in AI development ahead of China. I agree with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s assessment that China is closing fast on the United States:
It’s very easy to get mired in the copyright lawsuits against AI companies to lose sight of this fierce competition with China. The copyright lawsuits carry important national interests beyond the parties involved in the disputes.
China has a plan to beat the U.S. in AI by 2030
China has a national plan to beat the U.S. in AI by 2030. And that plan is not idle. Indeed, China has already eclipsed the U.S. in EVs, robotics, and other high technology.
There was a time when Elon Musk laughed at China’s EVs. But he’s not laughing now.
China already is the world leader in robotics.
And take a look at Huawei’s trifold phone. (The U.S. has banned Huawei products out of national security concerns.)
If China can out-innovate the United States in everything, including AI, China will become the global economic superpower that it aspires to be. Whither the United States?
If China can out-innovate the United States in everything, including AI, China will become the global economic superpower that it aspires to be. Whither the United States?
Wish I were exaggerating
I wish I were exaggerating. I’m not.
Everyone in the United States should read Michael Pillsbury’s book The Hundred Year Marathon. In it, he exhaustively describes China’s 100 year plan to overtake the United States as the global superpower. Yes, China has a plan–stretching 100 years! Listen to Pillsbury’s account:
The Hundred Year Marathon is a Chinese concept. There’s a book that came out in 2010 using this term “hundred year marathon.” It quoted earlier comments from Chairman Mao himself back in 1955. Then they were secret.
Michael Pillsbury, author of the hundred year marathon
That concept was China’s greatest contribution to the human race, to all mankind is to catch up and then surpass America.
At that point they were just 10% of our economy. So people thought there was no chance of that ever happening. But [China] grew and grew and grew. And they just passed us in December (2019). They’re now the world’s largest economy.
But that isn’t where the marathon stops. The idea of the marathon and the Chinese concept, we are at year 65 now [in 2019]. It started in 1949. There’s 34 more years to go [now 29].
Their economists estimate if things go well for them, they will be triple, at least triple, the size of our economy.
That’s why I say in the book’s title, [China will] be replacing us as the superpower.
And take a look at glimpses of China’s current technological innovation. It already looks like China is living in the future: