In recent news, an official statement was made by China. In it, a declaration was made. China intends to be the world’s dominant player in artificial intelligence by 2030. This is government policy from Beijing so its definitely something to be aware of as we move forward.
A State Council document, issued in July last year, resolved to position China as the world’s pre-eminent practitioner of artificial intelligence (AI) in both research and application within the next 12 years. Governments across the world are rushing to support innovation in AI, but none has published as coherent a plan as China and – more importantly – has the ability to get things done: the Chinese government can implement policy in ways that are impossible in western democracies.
This should ring alarm bells across western democracies indeed! What is next, the U.S. and U.K. governments making the same declaration? More sabre rattling? A bigger focus on incubating national AI companies? Only time will tell it seems...
“The State Council paper laid out China’s desire to be a hub of AI innovation by 2030, and these papers have teeth in terms of very strong local execution,” says Kai-Fu Lee, a key figure in the Chinese technology industry.
Kai-Fu Lee refers to the paper having teeth. I can only assume that means that they don't just outline intent, there are also policies or suggested policies behind making this intent become more than just intent. They are determined to be the leader in AI at all costs.
“All the ministries are thinking about it – from the ministry of science and technology to the ministry of education,” Lee says.
He then went on to outline a whole list of subsidies, tax rebates, guiding funds and incentives offered by local governments.
“State Council papers have the tradition of rapidly mobilising the whole country as a call to action and we’ve seen that in the speed in which China has built its high-speed rail, and when its mass entrepreneurship and innovation campaign [launched in 2014] caused 66,000 incubators to be built over two years.”
One thing is certain, the western world is taking note. I expect to see similar programs created or announced soon in western countries. When it comes to AI, nobody can afford to sit on their hands!
What do you guys think about China's intent to become the dominant player in AI by 2030?
Source:
Why China will win the global race for complete AI dominance - Wired
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