China Is Closing the Gap With the U.S. in AI, the New Space Race

  • The gap between the two of the world's great powers is narrowing.

  • Chinese AI companies are embracing open source, which can accelerate their progress.

  • Americans are more cautious and protective with their developments.

July 29, 2024, 16:45 ET

Karen Alfaro

Writer

Communications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies. LinkedIn

Chinese tech giants are launching AI systems that increasingly rival U.S. technologies and reach a wider audience. These efforts are narrowing the gap between the two countries in this new battle, reminiscent of the space race of the 20th century, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman calling for a bloc of democratic nations to counter China.

Why it matters. China is rapidly catching up to the U.S. in AI development, which could have significant implications for technological innovation, the national economy, productivity, and military power in the coming years.

Context. The U.S. has led the AI field for years, with homegrown companies like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft at the forefront.

Recently, some Chinese companies have announced technologies that directly compete with them.

Recent developments:

  • Kuaishou released Kling, an AI video generator comparable to OpenAI’s Sora. It’s now available to the public while Sora is still on standby.
  • 01.AI unveiled a chatbot that scored similarly to the best U.S. technologies in synthetic tests.
  • According to global rankings, Alibaba has one of the best open-source AI technologies.
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The Chinese strategy: open source. Many Chinese companies openly share their code for others to use and improve. This attitude contrasts with the culture of U.S. companies, which are more cautious and concerned about the potential risks of exposing their information.

This open source and collaborative approach can accelerate China’s progress in AI.

The challenges. The U.S. continues to restrict the export of advanced chips to China, which remains partially dependent on this core technology despite its long-standing plan to achieve self-sufficiency.

Overall, the U.S. is still the leader in AI research. Still, China’s open source strategy and willingness to share technologies with the public could shift the balance of power in the coming years, especially as China reclaims the global role it feels it has earned.

This article was written by Javier Lacort and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.

Image | Xataka On with Midjourney

Related | Mark Zuckerberg Keeps Saying That His AI Model Is Open Source, But He's Misusing the Term

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