- Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the United States is “far ahead of China” in AI development.
- Schmidt cited the chip shortage and the increase in English language materials for training AI models.
- He also said that China’s funding cuts and focus on for-profit apps are obstacles to China’s development.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt believes the U.S. is “way ahead of China” when it comes to AI.
“In terms of artificial intelligence, we’re way ahead, maybe two or three years ahead of China, but in my world that equates to forever,” Schmidt said in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday. Stated. “I think we’re in pretty good shape.”
Mr. Schmidt was Google’s CEO from 2001 to 2011 and chairman until 2015. Since his departure, Mr. Schmidt has invested in various AI companies, including his Anthropic. He also assumed his 2016 chairmanship of the Department of Defense Innovation Board, served as chairman Worked for three years on the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.
Schmidt said the U.S. stands to be a clear winner in the AI race unless its lead becomes muddy. The United States needs to compete with China and win because China is focused on dominating certain industries, he added.
At the beginning of 2024, China had approved more than 40 AI models in six months, including 14 new large-scale language models approved for public use in one week. Search engine giant Baidu, also known as China’s Google, is leading the way.
Schmidt talked about four factors that contribute to the view that China is lagging behind in the AI arms race.
Chip shortage
Schmidt said China is struggling due to “chips” and shortages.
In a separate interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Schmidt said China is being held back by the Trump and Biden administrations restricting access to high-speed chips, especially Nvidia chips.
“They’re certainly angry about it,” Schmidt said.
The chip will serve as a key component in efforts to scale AI. Tech-related tensions between the United States and China have prompted the government to push for semiconductors to be produced in the United States. In November 2023, the US Department of Commerce implemented the Advanced Computing Chip Rule, making it difficult for China to import advanced AI chips from US manufacturers.
The Biden administration recently considered imposing sanctions on several Chinese semiconductor companies linked to Huawei in March.
Schmidt believes China’s materials for training AI models are dwindling.
Schmidt also said in the CNBC interview that there isn’t a lot of Chinese language material available for training large-scale language models. He believes there is more information to learn in English because it dominates the Internet, research papers, and books used to train large-scale language models.
”That’s why English is so strong in these large-scale language models,” Schmidt said.
Additionally, most training data is in English, and other languages can be misleading or misleading, he said.
reduction of funds
Schmidt said China is also facing a significant decline in foreign investment and venture capital at risk. Meanwhile, the United States is experiencing explosive development in these areas, he said.
China’s economy has been in decline in recent years, and it continues to face the problem of deflation.
The country suffered its first investment deficit in November 2023 as tensions in the United States escalated and Western countries distanced themselves from corporate involvement.
focusing on the wrong area
Google’s former CEO said that China is focused on building commercial application companies that can ultimately be successful. However, he argued that they are not platform-focused.
“In fact, three or four of the top apps in America are made in China,” Schmidt said. “But for now, it is the United States that is in the lead.”
CNBC reports that while apps like TikTok may be successful, some industry experts believe China is lagging behind in basic AI models.
“We should be very proud to be here,” Schmidt said. “America invented this future, and this particular future of AI and quantum and other technologies that people are talking about. If we do it right, we actually have a chance to dominate the world over the next 10, 20 years. have” . ”
On February 28, Axel Springer, the parent company of Business Insider, joined 31 other media groups in filing a $2.3 billion lawsuit against Google in a Dutch court, alleging losses caused by the company’s advertising practices. Ta.
