Best Chinese Development Technologies

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In terms of the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, China today ranks second after the United States, and in ten years it intends to become the undisputed world leader in this area.  Its implementation is supported by large-scale government funding, as well as funds from private technology companies with close ties to the Chinese state.

From Beijing’s point of view, AI technologies will be the main driver of national economic development in the next decade and will create unique advantages for China in conquering new markets in the global division of labor. In addition, the development of AI technologies is considered an important domestic political task.

They form the basis of the system of control over the behavior of citizens (the system of social trust) being created in China, designed to ensure social and political stability and guarantee that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will remain in power. Finally, China is betting on AI as a basis for developing unique advantages in the military technology field.

China’s main trump card in the global race for AI dominance (apart from giant centralized financial injections into the industry) is the huge amount of data generated by Chinese users.  To improve its quality, the PRC stimulates international scientific and technological exchanges, primarily with the United States, and also pays special attention to the training of local personnel.

In matters of international cooperation in the field of AI, China behaves in much the same way as other major players, including the United States and Russia. China is participating in the global discussion at the United Nations on limits to lethal autonomous systems (LAS). Like other players, Beijing considers it premature to regulate the military use of AI and the development of ACS, seeking to consolidate and develop its own competitive advantages in this area.

At the same time, the PRC authorities are defiantly in favor of banning SAS, but only those that are completely autonomous and do not involve human participation at any stage of application. In addition to the military aspect of international regulation of AI, China is actively trying to participate in the creation of civil standards for the use of AI at the site of global organizations such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The topic of AI has been in the field of view of the Chinese government for more than a decade. The state approach to this industry was outlined in the mid-2010s. At the beginning of the current century, AI finds its way into public government strategies and is being developed in more and more detail.

Among the priority technologies are smart sensors, smart robots and augmented reality technologies. In the state program “Made in China – 2025” published in 2015, $ 300 billion is allocated for the development of high technologies and industrial production. The program involves the intensification of work in the field of R&D.

new materials, the creation of fifth-generation telecommunication networks, and the production of robots.  In this document, artificial intelligence, along with other technologies (big data, blockchain, machine learning), is considered as a priority area of ​​the state strategy to accelerate the use of information and communication technologies for the development of smart industry.

Finally, in June 2017, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China released the Next Generation AI Development Program, a milestone document to conceptualize Beijing’s public approach to AI development. It defines the strategic goals of the country (at least the publicly declared aspect), sets the deadlines for achieving them.

and also describes the bureaucratic mechanisms of work and sources of funding. The adoption of the 2017 Program puts the PRC on a par with the powers that have formulated public national strategies for the development of AI.  It is a strategic technology that will determine China’s future development, international competitiveness, as well as its national security and global influence.

China’s “Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Program” sets three strategic goals for the country. First, by 2020, China’s AI should be on par with similar industries in major developed countries. At the same time, spending on the AI ​​industry itself should amount to $22.5 billion, and on the development of related industries – more than $150 billion.

The second goal is to achieve a leading position in some individual areas of AI by 2025, the fundamental industry will accumulate $ 60 billion, related – $ 745 billion. Finally, by 2030, China will have to become the world’s main center of innovation in the field of AI, by which time investments in the fundamental industry will amount to $150 billion, and $1.5 trillion in related ones.

” This document, released by the Ministry of Industry and Informatization of the PRC (the lead body responsible for coordinating the implementation of the program by the government) in December 2017, covers the period up to 2020. It says that it is necessary, first, to stimulate the development of smart products: Internet-connected cars.

smart robots and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), face and voice recognition systems, machine analysis of medical images. Secondly, it is necessary to make a breakthrough in key fundamental technologies, primarily in the development of chips and neural networks, as well as open source platforms. Finally, key artificial intelligence technologies should be introduced into production processes everywhere.

The three-year plan echoes another document. The Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China has released a list of 13 priority technology projects for large-scale public investment. These projects should be completed by 2021. The most notable of these is the creation of an AI chip that will be 20 times faster and more energy efficient than the American Nvidia Tesla M40 GPU, one of the most widely used AI chips today.