December 08, 2017
China Is On a Whole-of-Nation Push for AI. The US Must Match It
China has made no secret of its ambitions to lead the world in artificial intelligence, nor of the military and geopolitical advantage it hopes to gain from this rapidly advancing technology. A closer look at Beijing’s whole-of-nation AI strategy shows the challenge to the United States — and suggests what America must do lest it be eclipsed in this latest round of great-power competition.
China’s vision came into focus over the summer with the release of the New Generation AI Development Plan, which articulatesan ambitious agenda to “lead the world” in the field. Chinese leaders, no longer content to copy Western technologies, are aiming to become the world’s “premier AI innovation center,” advancing an “innovation-driven” strategy for civilian and military development.
The implementation of this agenda will be a whole-of-government endeavor involving 15 central agencies and a growing number of local governments. Their efforts will foster the growth of a robust AI industry and ecosystem and pour billions into longer-term research and development of next-generation technologies. The plan will tap the dynamism of national tech champions, such as Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and iFlytek, that have been leading China’s AI revolution.
Read the full commentary in Defense One.
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
A Strategic Bet to Advance America’s Quantum LeadershipThe United States’ lead, however, is increasingly fragile: underinvestment, inconsistent demand, and a brittle supply chain are threatening to trap quantum sensing prototypes ...
By Constanza M. Vidal Bustamante
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
Sharper: QuantumIn the 21st century, the countries with the most advanced quantum technologies could have the most advanced weapons systems, pharmaceuticals, weather forecasting, and clean en...
By Sam Howell & Charles Horn
-
Commentary
Indo-Pacific Security / Energy, Economics & Security / Technology & National Security
Selling AI Chips Won’t Keep China Hooked on U.S. TechnologyU.S. policy should not rest on the illusion that selling chips can trap China inside the American tech ecosystem....
By Janet Egan
-
Commentary
Energy, Economics & Security / Technology & National Security
What the U.S.-EU $40 Billion Chip Deal MeansThe U.S.-EU framework exemplifies a recurring challenge in modern trade diplomacy: the tension between political symbolism and operational substance....
By Pablo Chavez
