China's Plan For AI


Major portion of China's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) comes from the manufacturing sector and that is why China is one of those countries which are going to benefit most due to AI. Challenging U.S dominance in the AI sector, Beijing has presented its plan to become the world-leader in AI by 2025. It released a national artificial intelligence (AI) development plan. China expects its core AI industries to exceed a value of $22.15 billion in 2020 and $59.07 billion in 2025. China's State Council said in a notice that it will encourage cross-border cooperation as part of the strategy. US is concerned over the increased amounts of investment of China in its AI sector fearing China could access technology of strategic military importance. Moreover China is following a similar national AI development plan released by the US in October last year. China is aiming to catch up with the global leaders by getting rid of issues like lack of high-end computer chips and equipment, software and trained personnel. It plans to strengthen links between private firms, research bodies and military bodies to promote mutual development in AI. Top Chinese firms like Baidu Inc. (also known as China's Google) and Tencent Holdings Ltd. have established research bases in the US. China has begun investing heavily in artificial intelligence technology.

At the opening ceremony of the 17th Congress of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2014, President Xi Jinping called for innovation and breakthroughs in science and technology, including AI. Following 2014, there have been a series of national economic initiatives which includes the 13th Five Year Plan (March 2015), Made in China 2025 (May 2016), Robotics Industry Development Plan (April 2016), and Three-year Guidance for Internet Plus Artificial Intelligence Plan (May 2016), which provided guidelines to boost AI R&D. China’s top economic planner, the National Development and Research Commission (NDRC), announced that it would create an AI market worth more than US$15.26 billion by 2018. In 2016, a report by White house indicated that the number of academic research papers published in China in the field of deep learning exceeded the number published by U.S. researchers. Another study reported that Chinese patent applications in the segment of AI grew to 8,410 between 2010 and 2014, a 186 percent increase from the previous five-year period. Scientists refer AI as the core of the next wave of industrialization and China realizes that. 


According to a report, this technology will contribute as much as $15.7 trillion to output by 2030, that's more than the current combined output of China and India. China is looking to compete with US market leaders such as Alphabet Inc's Google and Microsoft Corp. Another report estimated that AI could increase China’s annual growth rate by 1.6 percentage point to 7.9 percent by 2035 in terms of gross value added. 

US hightened its scrutiny over China's investment in Silicon Valley as it fears that is vital for its National security.   It is worried that China could use this cutting edge technology to increase its military capabilities and further push strategic industries. A Pentagon report warns that China is gaining access to sensitive technology. China is viewing this as the fourth industrial revolution and trying to build a very strong ecosystem around it.

Amid warnings of the economic disruption that robots and automation could unleash on the world economy as traditional roles disappear, researchers are finding that new technologies will help fuel global growth as productivity and consumption soar. AI will contribute as much as $15.7 trillion to the world economy by 2030. Global GDP, which stood at about $74 trillion in 2015, will be 14 percent higher in 2030 as a result of AI. Albeit the benefits against risks and costs of the AI technology are discussed, China has made it clear that it is getting ready to bring and be a part of the transformational changes that AI promises. 


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