US has ‘modest’ lead over China in artificial intelligence but gap has narrowed, American think tank says

Name: Beijing's plan to dominate artificial intelligence technology
Uploaded: 2020-08-25T16:00:21.000Z
Duration: 3 min
Description: Beijing's plan to dominate artificial intelligence technology

Beijing’s focus on AI and the advantage of having a vast population for big data sets is helping the country catch up, according to Rand report

America has the edge in advanced semiconductors, but there is ‘no room for complacency’

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Matt Ho

Published: 12:00am, 26 Aug 2020Updated: 1:15am, 26 Aug 2020

The United States had a “modest” lead over China in artificial intelligence as of early this year, mainly because of its edge in the advanced semiconductor sector, according to a US policy think tank.

But Beijing’s continued focus on developing AI combined with the country’s vast population had substantially narrowed the gap, the Rand Corporation said in a report.

“A strong semiconductor industry is an essential foundation for good, solid AI research,” it said, adding that China was also catching up in the semiconductor industry with massive government investment. “This lead leaves no room for complacency,” the report said.

The study – commissioned by the US Air Force after Beijing unveiled an ambitious plan three years ago to become a world leader in artificial intelligence by 2030 – compared the two countries’ AI strategies and strengths for both general and military purposes.

It was presented to the US military in early 2019 but only publicly released last month.

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Beijing's plan to dominate artificial intelligence technology

While China lagged behind the US in the general environment for innovation – such as its legal system and freedom of the press – the study noted that it had a clear advantage when it came to big data sets, which are crucial for developing AI applications.