An abundance of tech talent, data, computing power and capital are giving China key advantages in the artificial intelligence race.
China’s rich talent resources, particularly in technological research, may be owed to its tradition in language and translation research, says Heung-Yeung “Harry” Shum, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of Artificial Intelligence & Research. However, finding top AI experts is harder in China than in America, says Wanli Min, a Principal Data Scientist at Alibaba. He expects this to change. Most big universities now have AI programmes, and by some estimates, China already has more than two-fifths of the world’s trained AI scientists.
Another abundant resource in China is data, which feed the algorithms underpinning AI. This is due to the country’s diverse population of nearly 1.4 billion people, who generate more data than almost all other nations combined. And they are connected – the Chinese population has more internet users than anywhere else. The majority access the internet on smartphones, which generate more valuable data than other devices.
China is also strong in computing power and capital, the most basic inputs needed for AI. Chinese firms great and small are building data centres at a rapid clip. In 2012-2016, Chinese AI firms received $2.6 billion in funding, according to the Wuzhen Institute, a think-tank. This far eclipses the $17.9 billion garnered by their American counterparts.
PwC predicts that AI will boost the global GDP by $16 trillion by 2030, with nearly half coming from China. Entrepreneurs are seizing the opportunity. AI firms that started only a year or two ago are already gaining on their Western counterparts. “Chinese AI start-ups often iterate and execute more quickly”, says Kai-Fu Lee, a former CEO of Google China, who currently leads Sinovation Ventures. As a result, China already has “a herd of AI unicorns”, The Economist reports.
Chinese tech giants are also keen to invest in AI in China. Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent are working on many of the same technologies as the start-ups. They are also building on their strengths in specific areas of AI: Tencent is on its way to developing a big AI presence, as it has the most data, thanks to its WeChat messaging service and games. Alibaba is expanding its cloud computing, while Baidu is placing its bets on autonomous driving.
A potential challenge lies in Chinese firms exporting their AI products, and currently only a handful are used outside the domestic market. Self-driving cars trained on China’s chaotic streets, for example, should have no trouble navigating more orderly roadways elsewhere; however Western consumers may be wary of self-driving cars developed in a looser safety environment.
Chinese firms should also steer clear of becoming overly reliant on their wealth in data. While data are currently the most valuable input for AI, their importance could diminish as more AI firms start using simulated data. “The danger is that we stop innovating in algorithms because of our advantage in data,” warns Gansha Wu, Chief Executive of Beijing self-driving start-up UISEE. But more likely, China’s drive to advance AI will override any inclination to rest on its laurels.
