The U.S. Wakes Up To Chinas AI Threat – Forbes

Investment strategies continue as the U.S. and China each vie for dominance in AI and ML.

I was talking to a friend who is an expert in AI and he told me that he thought the U.S. was at a major inflection point, similar to the one we had after the U.S.S.R. launched its Sputnik satellite.

He reminded me that in 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite that took about 98 minutes to orbit the earth. According to Nasa's History Division, "That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race."

This led President Kennedy, in 1961, to propose that the U.S. should commit itself to achieve the goal, before that decade was out, of landing aman onthe moonand returning him safely to the Earth.

The Sputnik launch was considered an embarrassment to the U.S. and Congress spent $28 billion from 1960-1973 to make the U.S. the leader in the race to the moon and a leader in space exploration.

My friend believes the U.S. needs to have another Sputnik moment, but this time the threat comes from a high-tech challenge from China. China has emerged as a powerhouse in AI and ML research and is raising its tech R&D spending by 7% per year.

I have been very familiar with China's AI prowess and goals since I read a book on AI from Kai-Fu Lee. Kai-Fu Lee is one of the world's leading experts on China's rise in tech and has a deep understanding of China's AI program and leadership goals.

In Kai-Fu Lee's book, AI Superpowers-China, Silicon Valley and The New World Order, he reveals that, China has suddenly caught up to the U.S. at an astonishingly rapid and unexpected pace."

Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle understand this threat from China and are working on a range of legislative bills that could inject as much as $190 billion to target areas like AI, where China is committed to becoming the world leader in this technology.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Santa Clara, who represents part of Silicon Valley, is a co-author of the 600-page legislation, the Endless Frontier Act, on pushing through a bipartisan effort that has been years in the making. Khanna and his co-authors, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis, are shepherding the bill through the Senate.

Rep. Khanna would like Congress to authorize $100 billion over five years for critical advancements in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cybersecurity, semiconductors, and other cutting-edge technologies.

According to the San Jose Mercury News,

"The United States still outspends China in R&D, spending $612 billion on research and development in 2019, compared to Chinas $514 billion. But the gap is narrowing. At the turn of the century, China was only spending $33 billion a year on R&D, while the United States was spending nearly 10 times that amount."

When my friend mentioned this Sputnik analogy, I thought he was going to say that it was to get U.S. government officials more focused on climate change, one of the growing threats to the U.S. and the world. But his perspective of this analogy's focus, especially on China's desire to become a world leader in areas like AI, is spot on.

China's interest in becoming the world leader in tech is a major threat to the U.S. and the world. A country that lives by its own rules and not by the rules of the international community unchecked has to be countered.

The U.S. has been the leader in tech and unfortunately, made it possible for China to become a competitive counterpart. The U.S. leadership and Congress must come together to pass the kind of legislation and aggressive budgets to keep the U.S. ahead of China. They need to make sure China cannot gain access to future tech invented here, and as much as possible, thwart China's goal to eventually become even more powerful in AI, ML, and semiconductors.

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The U.S. Wakes Up To Chinas AI Threat - Forbes