US Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios said American companies’ collective spending on artificial intelligence-related research and development is six times the spending of foreign companies. Photo: Meng Jing
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US tech chief: China is threatening America’s lead in the global artificial intelligence race
US tech chief: China is threatening America’s lead in the global artificial intelligence race
- US Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios calls on government and private sector to collaborate to keep US on top in the competition for AI dominance
- Says US remains in front in the worldwide AI competition, but China is narrowing the gap quickly
An attendee looks at a CloudMinds Technology’s Cloud Pepper semi-humanoid robot at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai in August. Photo: Bloomberg
US President Donald Trump’s head of technology policy on Tuesday called for “collective power” from both the US government and America’s private sector to keep the United States ahead of China in the tightening race for global artificial intelligence dominance.
US Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios said at a Washington think tank event that although the US is currently the leader in the worldwide AI competition, China is narrowing the gap quickly.
“Our goal is very clear, the unique American ecosystem must do everything its collective power can to keep America’s lead in the AI race and build on our success,” Kratsios told a Centre for Data Innovation forum on the US’ prospects for remaining the dominant power in the global AI leadership contest.
Kratsios, who advises Trump on a broad range of technology policy issues, is a pivotal figure in driving US technology priorities and strategic initiatives.
His call for greater collaboration between Washington and the private sector comes as annual federal spending on non-defence-related AI research is set to jump to nearly US$1 billion, according to a supplement to Trump’s fiscal 2020 budget request, released on Tuesday.
That figure represents an increase, given that agencies including the US defence department and non-defence related entities spent about US$1 billion on AI research in 2016.
But critics have long argued that China is overtaking the US in AI by significantly outspending America in this sector.
Nations are racing to acquire a global innovation edge through AI, which can boost competitiveness, increase productivity, protect national security and solve societal challenges.
China has made one of the biggest pushes towards AI dominance after announcing a plan two years ago to become the world leader in the emerging technology by 2030.
A screen shows facial-recognition technology at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. Photo: Bloomberg
There is no official data on how much money China is pumping into AI development. But the investment is believed to be enormous as Beijing’s whole-of-government approach means funding comes not just from the central government but local governments as well.
Preferential policies, such as tax cuts and office rent discounts, also could give specially selected industries in China a strong boost in AI development.
Will China’s embrace of military AI trigger a new arms race?
Mainland media reports show that the city of Tianjin alone – a major port city in northeastern China – plans to set up a 100 billion yuan (US$14.06 billion) fund focused on AI industry.
Kratsios argued that the problem with trying to compare governments’ AI research and development spending is that it invariably becomes an “apples-to-oranges” game.
Nations are racing to acquire a global innovation edge through AI, which can boost competitiveness, increase productivity, protect national security and solve societal challenges.
The US possesses an edge in the AI race in several ways, he said, citing the number of US schools with top AI research programmes, the number of most cited US scholars and the number of American AI companies and “unicorns” – privately held AI start-up companies valued at over US$1 billion……more here
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