https://www.scmp.com/rss/517916/feed The latest news on Eric Schmidt, businessman and former CEO of Google, including American business news and updates. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Ben Jiang Ben Jiang China’s designs on supremacy in artificial intelligence could be hindered by a funding gap in the sector, according to former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who gave a grim assessment of the country’s AI prospects as China and the US lock horns for dominance. However, analysts said that funding would not be a concern for China’s AI development given the deep pockets of the country’s private and state investors – particularly as Beijing, Big Tech firms and investors were united in their determination... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3335195/can-china-fund-its-ai-ambitions-ex-google-ceo-eric-schmidt-casts-doubt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3335195/can-china-fund-its-ai-ambitions-ex-google-ceo-eric-schmidt-casts-doubt?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 13:00:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Poland and Romania are deploying a new weapons system to defend against Russian drones, following a spate of incursions into Nato airspace in recent months that exposed the alliance’s vulnerabilities and put Europe on edge. The American Merops system, which is small enough to fit in the back of a midsize pickup truck, can identify drones and close in on them, using artificial intelligence to navigate when satellite and electronic communications are jammed. As well as being deployed in Poland and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3331808/nato-deploys-new-system-detect-russian-drone-incursions-defend-poland-and-romania?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3331808/nato-deploys-new-system-detect-russian-drone-incursions-defend-poland-and-romania?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Nov 2025 11:20:16 +0000 Wency Chen,Ann Cao Wency Chen,Ann Cao Renowned scientists and business leaders from the US and China are calling for greater collaboration in the field of artificial intelligence amid growing concerns that humanity might lose control of the rapidly evolving technology. At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), which commenced in Shanghai on Saturday, Nobel laureate and AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton proposed the establishment of “an international community of AI safety institutes and associations that works on techniques... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3319700/ai-experts-urge-us-china-collaboration-shanghai-conference?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3319700/ai-experts-urge-us-china-collaboration-shanghai-conference?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Jul 2025 11:00:45 +0000 Ann Cao,Wency Chen Ann Cao,Wency Chen Shanghai will host its eighth annual flagship artificial intelligence (AI) conference this weekend as China ramps up competition against the US for supremacy in the fast-developing technology. The three-day World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), with the theme of “Global Solidarity in the AI Era”, will kick off on Saturday with an opening keynote from Premier Li Qiang, who also headlined last year’s event. A high-level meeting on global AI governance will be held in tandem with the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3319607/shanghai-conference-sets-stage-us-china-face-heated-race-ai-supremacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3319607/shanghai-conference-sets-stage-us-china-face-heated-race-ai-supremacy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Jul 2025 10:00:16 +0000 Otto Barten Otto Barten Few expected it would happen this fast, but there is widespread relief at the news that China and the United States are talking again. In only a few days, renewed trade talks have resulted in temporary but large reductions of the mutual tariffs that seemed so impregnable just a few weeks ago. Since collaboration, rather than conflict, has proven to be a realistic option for trade, it should also be pursued in a different and perhaps even more crucial domain: the race towards advanced artificial... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3310252/us-china-trade-talks-should-pave-way-ai-safety-treaty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3310252/us-china-trade-talks-should-pave-way-ai-safety-treaty?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 May 2025 12:30:08 +0000 China’s ability to launch DeepSeek’s popular chatbot came under scrutiny before a US government advisory panel on Thursday, with one witness stressing the role that American technology played and another cautioning that the country’s ability to “iterate” other breakthroughs in the industry could overcome this factor. Testimony before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) also came with a warning about China’s ability to dominate the “potentially world-changing technology... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3297698/chinas-ability-launch-deepseeks-popular-chatbot-draws-us-government-panels-scrutiny?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3297698/chinas-ability-launch-deepseeks-popular-chatbot-draws-us-government-panels-scrutiny?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Feb 2025 23:40:15 +0000 The United States and China have a shared interest in sitting down to discuss automated weapons, artificial intelligence and its many potential and unforeseen abuses. Less clear is whether the two global AI superpowers and their huge militaries have common interests or goals coming into the talks, which are expected to take place this spring, according to analysts and experts involved in informal sessions between the two nations. “The good news, which has been a really, really rare thing these... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3251605/nuclear-weapons-and-poison-pills-washington-beijing-warily-circle-ai-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3251605/nuclear-weapons-and-poison-pills-washington-beijing-warily-circle-ai-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Feb 2024 14:00:09 +0000 Evan Spiegel is no stranger to the ups and downs of helming a major tech company. In 2015, Spiegel became one of the youngest billionaires in the world – just four years after launching Snapchat. Between 2021 and 2022 though, Spiegel saw his net worth tank by almost 83 per cent as Snap Inc. contended with year-over-year losses and problems with its advertising business. Now, at 33, he’s worth around US$2.6 billion, according to the latest estimates from Forbes. Snapchat still ranks among the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3244951/rise-and-plateau-snapchat-billionaire-evan-spiegel-his-privileged-upbringing-la-dropping-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3244951/rise-and-plateau-snapchat-billionaire-evan-spiegel-his-privileged-upbringing-la-dropping-out?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Dec 2023 22:00:21 +0000 There are exactly 2,640 billionaires in the world, according to Forbes. That’s about 0.00003 per cent of the global population. Despite their scarcity, these billionaires are surprisingly easy to find. After all, birds of a feather – especially those of a small brood – flock their private jets together. At the start of the year, they descend en masse on Davos. In July, they fly to Sun Valley. In December, their yachts stop by St Barts. Here’s where billionaires mingle, wheel and deal, and relax,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/icons-influencers/article/3242666/where-richest-people-world-hang-out-through-year-us-event-where-billionaire-jeff-bezos-and-disney?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/icons-influencers/article/3242666/where-richest-people-world-hang-out-through-year-us-event-where-billionaire-jeff-bezos-and-disney?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Nov 2023 20:00:11 +0000 The US must pursue strategic technological breakthroughs, such as a working quantum computer by 2028, to stay ahead of rivals like China and ensure its national security. That is according to a report released on Tuesday by the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), an organisation funded by former Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt. The document also urges the improvement of computational energy efficiency by a factor of 1,000 or more and the development of commercial-grade superconductor... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3242420/eric-schmidts-think-tank-urges-moonshot-chase-keep-us-ahead-china-race-technological-supremacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3242420/eric-schmidts-think-tank-urges-moonshot-chase-keep-us-ahead-china-race-technological-supremacy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Nov 2023 05:26:19 +0000 The US has established its first generative artificial intelligence task force, the Pentagon announced on Thursday, amid fierce competition with China in the domain that is vital to future warfare. Task Force Lima, as it is called, will assess, synchronise and employ generative AI capabilities across the Defence Department, ensuring that it remains at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies while safeguarding national security, according to a Pentagon statement. Craig Martell, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3230701/pentagon-creates-generative-ai-task-force?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3230701/pentagon-creates-generative-ai-task-force?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Aug 2023 22:03:21 +0000 Inflection AI, a start-up backed by several Silicon Valley heavyweights, said on Thursday it had raised US$1.3 billion from investors including Microsoft and Nvidia, amid a boom in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. The investment, a mix of cash and cloud credit, valued the one-year-old company at US$4 billion, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Inflection released its chatbot Pi last month. Founded by Google DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman and LinkedIn co-founder Reid... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3226037/microsoft-backed-ai-start-inflection-raises-us13-billion-nvidia-and-others?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3226037/microsoft-backed-ai-start-inflection-raises-us13-billion-nvidia-and-others?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jun 2023 04:15:19 +0000 As a diplomat, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger witnessed and was personally involved in many turning points in history. But in recent years, the famous statesman, who turned 100 over the weekend, has turned his attention to the futuristic problems posed by artificial intelligence. In his 2021 book The Age of AI, co-written with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and computer scientist Daniel Huttenlocher, Kissinger pointed out the unique challenges of the AI era compared to previous... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3222344/ai-technology-dire-need-guiding-philosophy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3222344/ai-technology-dire-need-guiding-philosophy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 May 2023 12:36:11 +0000 In his now-classic 2018 book, AI Superpowers, Kai-fu Lee threw down the gauntlet in arguing that China poses a growing technological threat to the United States. When Lee gave a guest lecture to my “Next China” class at Yale in late 2019, my students were enthralled by his provocative case: America was about to lose its first-mover advantage in discovery (the expertise of AI’s algorithms) to China’s advantage in implementation (big-data-driven applications). Alas, Lee left out a key development:... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3221753/how-censorship-china-could-hold-back-its-quest-ai-supremacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3221753/how-censorship-china-could-hold-back-its-quest-ai-supremacy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 May 2023 07:45:16 +0000 Water may be more widespread and recent on Mars than previously thought, based on observations of Martian sand dunes by China’s rover. The finding highlights new, potentially fertile areas in the warmer regions of Mars where conditions might be suitable for life to exist, though more study is needed. The news comes days after mission leaders acknowledged that the Zhurong rover had yet to wake up since going into hibernation for the Martian winter nearly a year ago. Chinese scientists scramble to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3218849/chinas-mars-rover-finds-signs-recent-water-sand-dunes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3218849/chinas-mars-rover-finds-signs-recent-water-sand-dunes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Apr 2023 05:51:16 +0000 Children of US presidents are in the public eye almost as much as their parents. Some first kids follow their parents into politics, while others steer clear of the limelight. Many remain involved with their parents’ foundations and presidential libraries too. So where are some of the most famous first kids of the United States today? 1. Chelsea Clinton Chelsea Clinton was 12 years old when Bill Clinton entered the White House. The Clintons asked the media to give Chelsea privacy outside of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3217017/where-are-us-first-kids-2023-donald-trumps-children-ivanka-barron-don-jr-tiffany-and-eric-barack-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3217017/where-are-us-first-kids-2023-donald-trumps-children-ivanka-barron-don-jr-tiffany-and-eric-barack-and?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Apr 2023 17:00:18 +0000 Putting a temporary pause on artificial intelligence development would only hand an advantage to competitors in China, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said, after more than 1,000 researchers signed a letter warning of the consequences of moving too quickly on AI research. Speaking to the Australian Financial Review in an interview published on Friday, Schmidt said there were legitimate concerns about the speed of research into AI but they should be mitigated by tech companies working together to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3216295/ex-google-boss-eric-schmidt-says-pause-artificial-intelligence-research-would-benefit-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3216295/ex-google-boss-eric-schmidt-says-pause-artificial-intelligence-research-would-benefit-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Apr 2023 06:58:48 +0000 The US’ technological edge is eroding, an Australian intelligence chief said on Tuesday, as a Sydney conference was told the Aukus alliance of Australia, Britain and the United States must collaborate on quantum and hypersonic technology to compete with China. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, chairman of the US Special Competitive Studies Project, told the Sydney Dialogue that China was unlike the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War, because it was “an autocratic competitor that is run by... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3215917/aukus-urged-step-us-edge-erodes-china-very-capable-inventing-new-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3215917/aukus-urged-step-us-edge-erodes-china-very-capable-inventing-new-future?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Apr 2023 06:02:07 +0000 Exclusivity can’t be bought, as the Hurlingham Club in London showed when it reportedly rejected a £1 billion (HK$9.5 billion) acquisition offer from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, former owner of Premier League football team Chelsea. As one of the world’s most exclusive private clubs, the Hurlingham – which counts the Princess of Wales and Rafael Nadal as members – has a 30-year waiting list which is now closed, unless you are the child of a current member. Banquets, galas and networking... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3207544/inside-worlds-most-exclusive-private-members-clubs-and-what-it-really-takes-join-londons-hurlingham?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3207544/inside-worlds-most-exclusive-private-members-clubs-and-what-it-really-takes-join-londons-hurlingham?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Jan 2023 02:00:18 +0000 For the first time in human history, we can give machines a simple written or spoken prompt and they will produce original creative artefacts – poetry, prose, illustration, music – with infinite variation. With disarming ease, we can hitch our imagination to computers, and they can do all the heavy lifting to turn ideas into art. This machined artistry is essentially mindless – a dizzying feat of predictive, data-driven misdirection, a kind of hallucination – but the trickery works, and it is... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3200976/ai-rewriting-rules-creativity-what-does-mean-human-imagination?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3200976/ai-rewriting-rules-creativity-what-does-mean-human-imagination?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Nov 2022 11:15:08 +0000 The United States should use artificial intelligence to defeat China’s censors and undermine social stability in case Beijing attacks Taiwan, a US-based think tank has advised. Such a move would expose the Chinese population to information beyond state propaganda and distract authorities from offensive military operations, according to the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP). The Virginia-based non-profit grew from the former National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3197496/us-should-use-ai-beat-chinese-censors-case-taiwan-attack-think-tank-chaired-former-google-ceo-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3197496/us-should-use-ai-beat-chinese-censors-case-taiwan-attack-think-tank-chaired-former-google-ceo-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Oct 2022 12:48:36 +0000 Singapore sent a clear message of its reopening after a two-year pandemic hiatus as some 1,200 guests, including government officials and top executives from more than 25 nations, gathered in the city state on Thursday for the Milken Institute Asia Summit. Officials speaking at the three-day event include Malaysian Finance Minister Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and Singapore Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Hollywood stars Henry Golding and Sima Taparia, who starred in Netflix hit series... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3194296/singapore-back-milken-institute-asia-summit-token2049-f1-race?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3194296/singapore-back-milken-institute-asia-summit-token2049-f1-race?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Sep 2022 12:31:00 +0000 The US could lose the new technology competition to China if it does not take dramatic action on three core fronts soon, a new report has warned. The years between 2025 and 2030 would be a critical time window for the new tech arms race, in which Beijing might win the edge if its plans work out, according to the report by the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), founded by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. “We only have one budget cycle to get this right,” SCSP chief Ylli Bajraktari told a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3192386/us-will-lose-china-tech-war-if-5g-ai-microchip-core-fronts-are?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3192386/us-will-lose-china-tech-war-if-5g-ai-microchip-core-fronts-are?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Sep 2022 17:00:15 +0000 Ukraine has been a very effective proving ground for the use of contemporary information technology in war, from satellite dishes to smartphone apps, Eric Schmidt, the former Google chief executive, said Monday. Schmidt, now a US government consultant on artificial intelligence, told reporters after a 36-hour visit to the country that the civilian tech sector has been crucial to Kyiv’s defence. The proof came the day after Russian troops invaded on February 24. After a long stall, Ukraine’s... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3192277/ex-google-ceo-eric-schmidt-says-ukraine-proves-value-it-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3192277/ex-google-ceo-eric-schmidt-says-ukraine-proves-value-it-war?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Sep 2022 03:25:59 +0000 Australian-born US billionaire Rupert Murdoch, 91, recently finalised his divorce from model and actress Jerry Hall. They announced in a joint statement that legal proceedings had been aborted and instead, “financial arrangements settled out of court”. The two also reportedly remain friends. The news has come as a surprise to many, not least because the media mogul’s seemingly amicable separation sits in contrast to his rather more messy divorce from third wife Wendi Deng, who tabloids described... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3190331/where-rupert-murdochs-ex-wendi-deng-2022-gutsy-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3190331/where-rupert-murdochs-ex-wendi-deng-2022-gutsy-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Aug 2022 11:00:20 +0000 On May 23, just hours before the leaders of the United States, Australia, India and Japan converged on Tokyo for a summit to discuss their shared concerns about the Indo-Pacific region, the White House released a fact sheet that in retrospect was perhaps most notable for its omission. The document listed a slew of initiatives including the launch of a Quad Investors Network described as “an independent consortium of investors” meant to make capital more accessible for critical and emerging... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3188579/us-aids-semiconductor-industry-billionaire-backed-tech-fund?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3188579/us-aids-semiconductor-industry-billionaire-backed-tech-fund?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Aug 2022 15:00:10 +0000 At a time when the US and China are divided on everything from economics to human rights, artificial intelligence is still a point of particular friction. With the potential to revolutionise everything from food production and healthcare to financial markets and surveillance, it’s a technology that sparks both optimism and paranoia. One of the field’s most influential figures is Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, whose education and professional life have straddled the world’s two biggest economies.... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3186448/chinas-ai-ambitions-are-being-propelled-75-year-old-harvard-grad-andrew?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3186448/chinas-ai-ambitions-are-being-propelled-75-year-old-harvard-grad-andrew?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Jul 2022 03:31:08 +0000 Summer is nearly here, which means it’s prime holiday season! But for the wealthy and powerful, holidays look a little different. Take Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, for instance: he spends time surfing near his nearly 607 hectares (1,500 acres) in Hawaii and at his super-private retreat on Lake Tahoe. Or there’s Tim Cook, Apple’s billionaire CEO, who spends his time away from running the iPhone-maker exploring national parks. Take a look at how some of the US’ most high-powered billionaire execs spend... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3182966/where-do-billionaires-go-holiday-how-amazon-founder-jeff?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3182966/where-do-billionaires-go-holiday-how-amazon-founder-jeff?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jun 2022 19:00:10 +0000 More than a dozen former national security officials from Democratic and Republican administrations have written to Congress calling for a bipartisan approach to technology funding legislation, calling it “critical” if the country is to compete against China. Former president Barack Obama’s defence secretary Leon Panetta and Stephen Hadley, national security adviser to George W. Bush, were among 16 signatories of a letter to Congress which said quick passage of the legislation would “ensure the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3165556/former-us-security-officials-join-forces-critical-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3165556/former-us-security-officials-join-forces-critical-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Feb 2022 04:52:24 +0000 The Belfer Center at Harvard University’s Kennedy School released a paper in December titled “The Great Tech Rivalry: China vs the US”, analysing the technological status of the two giant economies. Harvard professor Graham Allison, lead author of the report, and Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO, also published an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on the subject. They contend that China has already surpassed the US in areas like artificial intelligence, 5G, quantum information science,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3164758/apple-and-teslas-success-china-shows-sino-us-cooperation-can-be-win?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3164758/apple-and-teslas-success-china-shows-sino-us-cooperation-can-be-win?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Jan 2022 17:30:28 +0000 China, which has displaced the United States as the world’s top hi-tech manufacturer, is predicted to gain on – if it has not already overtaken – the world’s largest economy within the next decade in the foundational technologies of the 21st century, including artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, quantum information science (QIS), semiconductors, biotechnology and green energy. That sweeping forecast was made in a new report, The Great Rivalry: China vs the US in the 21st Century, published on... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3159107/us-china-tech-war-china-overtake-america-core-21st-century?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3159107/us-china-tech-war-china-overtake-america-core-21st-century?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Dec 2021 13:02:08 +0000 The release on Monday of US journalist Danny Fenster from a Myanmar prison was the latest in US-diplomat-turned-freelance-fixer Bill Richardson’s long career of dealing with notorious dictators. Fenster – handed an 11-year sentence last week for incitement, unlawful association and breaching visa rules – was freed on Monday, a day before he was to face terror and sedition charges that could have seen him jailed for life. The 37-year-old looked gaunt, with his hair and beard grown longer during... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3156210/myanmar-how-bill-richardson-used-despot-diplomacy-secure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3156210/myanmar-how-bill-richardson-used-despot-diplomacy-secure?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Nov 2021 07:27:19 +0000 As China embarks on what President Xi Jinping calls the “third distribution” along the path to reaching “common prosperity” and “socialist modernisation by 2035”, it might want to consider the idea of pre-distribution of wealth through universal basic capital. This would modernise the socialist market economy by spreading wealth more fairly. Pre-distribution addresses the fundamental dynamic of inequality in all market-driven economies, where an ever-increasing share of national income goes to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3147839/how-universal-basic-capital-can-help-china-achieve-its-common?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3147839/how-universal-basic-capital-can-help-china-achieve-its-common?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Sep 2021 01:15:14 +0000 Senior White House officials appeared at a conference on emerging technologies to reinforce the message that Washington and its allies must close ranks to ensure that advances in artificial intelligence are developed in accordance with “democratic values”, and not left to China. “We can’t let China write the rules around AI,” US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told the Global Emerging Technology Summit in Washington. “It’s important that AI is developed in a way and regulated in a way that is... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3140997/us-and-allies-must-set-democratic-rules-artificial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3140997/us-and-allies-must-set-democratic-rules-artificial?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jul 2021 16:39:00 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping is renewing his years-long push to achieve technology self-sufficiency by tapping a top deputy to shepherd a key initiative aimed at helping domestic chip makers overcome US sanctions. Liu He, Xi’s economic tsar whose sprawling portfolio spans trade to finance and technology, has been tapped to spearhead the development of so-called third-generation chip development and capabilities and is leading the formulation of a series of financial and policy supports for the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3137641/xi-jinping-taps-top-lieutenant-lead-third-generation-chip-development?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3137641/xi-jinping-taps-top-lieutenant-lead-third-generation-chip-development?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jun 2021 07:13:45 +0000 A government-funded artificial intelligence (AI) institute in Beijing unveiled on Monday the world’s most sophisticated natural language processing (NLP) model, surpassing those from Google and OpenAI, as China seeks to increase its technological competitiveness on the world stage. The WuDao 2.0 model is a pre-trained AI model that uses 1.75 trillion parameters to simulate conversational speech, write poems, understand pictures and even generate recipes. The project was led by the non-profit... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3135764/us-china-tech-war-beijing-funded-ai-researchers-surpass-google-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3135764/us-china-tech-war-beijing-funded-ai-researchers-surpass-google-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Jun 2021 09:30:17 +0000 A new US congressional report warns that Beijing’s efforts to boost domestic semiconductor capabilities could upend American dominance in technology, and calls on lawmakers to push the administration of President Joe Biden to join forces with Japan and the EU to counter Chinese measures. “China’s state-led semiconductor policies, if successful, could lead to the loss of US technological leadership and significantly shift global semiconductor production and related design and research... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3130818/us-china-tech-war-congressional-think-tank-urges-biden-team-japan-eu?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3130818/us-china-tech-war-congressional-think-tank-urges-biden-team-japan-eu?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Apr 2021 12:00:04 +0000 The US and China are now engaged in a full-blown tech war. It began under the Trump administration but is continuing under US President Joe Biden. In fact, Biden has cast US competition with China as the most important front in a generational struggle between democracy and autocracy.  US-China tech war: calls for more tech bans on China get louder in Washington The tech war started as a trade dispute, but soon morphed into a battle for leadership in core technologies like 5G, artificial... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3130587/us-china-tech-war-everything-you-need-know-about-us-china-tech-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3130587/us-china-tech-war-everything-you-need-know-about-us-china-tech-war?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Apr 2021 22:00:12 +0000 Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has called on the US government to build up its semiconductor industry to counter China, urging the country to “take a position and put money behind it”. “It’s lots of money … that the United States will need to stay two semiconductor generations ahead of the Chinese,” Schmidt said in an interview with CBS News on Wednesday. Schmidt currently serves as the chair of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, having left his position as an adviser... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3130636/ex-google-ceo-eric-schmidt-warns-us-must-invest-semiconductors-counter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3130636/ex-google-ceo-eric-schmidt-warns-us-must-invest-semiconductors-counter?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Apr 2021 08:29:26 +0000 Billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel warned about bitcoin’s potential in undermining the US dollar’s position as a global reserve currency and accused Chinese video app TikTok of creating “privacy-invading” technologies in a virtual talk on Tuesday. Thiel, an outspoken Silicon Valley supporter of former US president Donald Trump and a major investor in cryptocurrencies, shared his opinion in an online seminar centred on US Big Tech and China held by the Richard Nixon Foundation. “From China’s... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3128755/peter-thiel-calls-bitcoin-chinese-financial-weapon-and-suggests-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3128755/peter-thiel-calls-bitcoin-chinese-financial-weapon-and-suggests-us?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Apr 2021 07:52:07 +0000 At first glance, the English and Chinese versions of ByteDance’s website look like mirror images of each other: both feature the same upbeat images of cheerful office workers and a beaming father looking at a smartphone with his young son. Scrolling down the homepage, however, reveals subtle but significant differences. The English website contains a section showing Beijing-based ByteDance’s five board directors, four of whom are from the company’s foreign investors, including US investment... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3125252/tiktok-chinese-entrepreneurs-unfinished-search-global-recognition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3125252/tiktok-chinese-entrepreneurs-unfinished-search-global-recognition?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Mar 2021 02:00:17 +0000 A US national security commission urged Washington to compete head-on against China on artificial intelligence (AI), but not to completely decouple from the rival in research and business. The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) said in its final report to Congress on Wednesday that “the United States can compete against China without ending collaborative AI research and severing all technology commerce”. “The US-China competition is complicated by the complex web of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3123664/us-must-face-artificial-intelligence-competition-china-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3123664/us-must-face-artificial-intelligence-competition-china-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Mar 2021 17:44:16 +0000 US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday directing a broad review of American supply chains for critical products including semiconductors, aiming to reduce reliance on countries such as China. The order requires federal agencies to begin a 100-day review process to find ways to increase domestic production in four areas: semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, automobile batteries and rare-earth elements that are crucial to tech and defence. “We shouldn’t have to rely on a foreign... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3123006/joe-biden-seek-review-us-supply-chains-amid-fears-reliance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3123006/joe-biden-seek-review-us-supply-chains-amid-fears-reliance?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Feb 2021 17:08:06 +0000 Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt called on the US government to fast track development of emerging technology including artificial intelligence (AI) to catch up to China’s lead. The United States is “one or two years ahead of China, not five or 10” and “the Chinese are well ahead in areas like face recognition,” said Schmidt at a Tuesday hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee on emerging technologies and their impact on national security. “Because of the diffusion of the technology,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3122857/us-china-tech-war-former-google-ceo-eric-schmidt-stresses-urgency?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3122857/us-china-tech-war-former-google-ceo-eric-schmidt-stresses-urgency?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Feb 2021 19:20:02 +0000 Tech war heats up A group led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt says Washington needs to manage “asymmetric competition” with China when it comes to technology and that a certain degree of “bifurcation” would be in US interests. The CSG, formed in July 2020 to tackle “the most difficult questions regarding US competitiveness with China on technology” also includes Jared Cohen, the chief executive of Jigsaw and a former adviser to former US secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and Hillary... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3119799/inside-china-tech-kuaishous-imminent-ipo-us-china-tech-war-heats-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3119799/inside-china-tech-kuaishous-imminent-ipo-us-china-tech-war-heats-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Jan 2021 10:00:17 +0000 American and international firms are pondering whether they should enter or expand operations in China’s domestic market, which increasingly operates under state direction with lines blurred between Chinese companies and government authorities. On the one hand, the market of 1.4 billion potential consumers is difficult to ignore. Many large, Western-based companies derive significant portions of their global profits from doing business in China. But foreign companies have long complained about... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3119782/chinas-state-led-economy-makes-it-clear-foreign-firms-youre?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3119782/chinas-state-led-economy-makes-it-clear-foreign-firms-youre?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Jan 2021 11:00:08 +0000 An American group led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has produced a report that says Washington needs to manage “asymmetric competition” with China when it comes to technology and that a certain degree of “bifurcation” would be in US interests. “America’s technological leadership is fundamental to its security, prosperity, and democratic way of life. But this vital advantage is now at risk, with China surging to overtake the United States in critical areas,” says the report by the China... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3119484/us-china-tech-war-former-google-chief-and-others-call-action-handle-asymmetric?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3119484/us-china-tech-war-former-google-chief-and-others-call-action-handle-asymmetric?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Jan 2021 10:18:02 +0000 President Joe Biden benefited from a record-breaking amount of donations from anonymous donors to outside groups backing him, meaning the public will never have a full accounting of who helped him win the White House. Biden’s winning campaign was backed by US$145 million in so-called dark money donations, a type of fundraising Democrats have decried for years. Those fundraising streams augmented Biden’s US$1.5 billion haul, in itself a record for a challenger to an incumbent president. That... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3118987/how-us145-million-dark-money-donations-helped-joe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3118987/how-us145-million-dark-money-donations-helped-joe?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Jan 2021 15:14:18 +0000 Cheng Xue, the vice-chairwoman of Foshan Haitian Flavouring, has displaced dozens of technology executives as China’s highest-paid corporate chieftain, according to the inaugural Hurun China Richest Professional Managers 2021 report. The personal wealth of Cheng, 50, is estimated at 65 billion yuan (US$10 billion), due to her 9 per cent stake in Haitian according to Forbes, which quadrupled in value since its 2014 initial public offering in Shanghai. Cheng is also at the apex of a growing legion... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3118347/cheng-xue-soy-sauce-producer-haitian-chinas-top-earner-us10?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3118347/cheng-xue-soy-sauce-producer-haitian-chinas-top-earner-us10?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Jan 2021 09:57:17 +0000 Ashton Kutcher, the once-breakout star of goofy cult comedy Dude, Where’s My Car?, boasts an extensive résumé. “Actor” is just one of the many bullet points the 42-year-old would list as part of his career to date: Kutcher is also a producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist, with various ventures in each of these fields. He also happens to be a very serious investor. He’s not the first celebrity to break into investing, but more than a decade in, Kutcher has made a name for himself in Silicon... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3107448/ashton-kutcher-invested-early-uber-and-airbnb-and-turned?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3107448/ashton-kutcher-invested-early-uber-and-airbnb-and-turned?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Oct 2020 09:49:59 +0000