The third revolution of warfare: why America is losing the artificial intelligence race to china
China is winning the AI race due to the US army’s sluggish digital transformation, private actors’ reluctance to work with the state, and too many ethical debates stifling innovation. The Pentagon knew it had a problem when Nick Chaillan, its first-ever chief software officer quit, saying the United States has no competing fighting chance against China in 15 to 20 years when it comes to cyberwarfare and artificial intelligence.
According to the experts, whoever leads in artificial intelligence in 2030, will rule the world until 2100. And it is a race that some say America is losing.
Areas of AI Developments by China
Computer vision and facial recognition
China has strengthened its capabilities in computer vision, facial recognition, emotion recognition, and more. It has also made progress in natural language processing and 5G technology.
Drug discovery
China is also leading the way in AI-based drug discovery efforts. In 2019, Tencent launched an AI-based drug discovery platform to reduce the time spent on the R&D of new drugs. Other measures include a US$200 million AI drug discovery partnership between Insilico and China’s CTFH.
Quantum computing
Chinese researchers claimed to have achieved quantum supremacy with the capability of performing calculations 100 trillion times faster than the world’s most advanced supercomputer, beating Google to this milestone.
Military artificial intelligence
China’s spending has also trumped the US in military Artificial Intelligence. Experts believe if the US does not become aggressive, the country’s democracy will be doomed.
Advantages for China
Favorable policies
China enjoys fair policies and regulations backed by a government willing to invest and deploy innovative technologies at scale.
Concerted efforts from universities and startups
Both industry and academia are working to propel AI research in computer vision, NLP, and more. China is working to bring researchers back to the country by offering good perks and benefits.
The United States still has what it takes to beat China in the AI race—it still leads in talent, research, development and hardware. But the US has to decide soon that it wants to win and then do what it takes to win.
