Microsoft is moving some of its brightest artificial intelligence researchers from China to Canada, a move that threatens to destroy an important training ground for tech talent in the Asian country.
Beijing-based Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA) has started applying for visas to move top AI experts from the Chinese capital to a lab in Vancouver, according to four people familiar with the plan. It says.
These officials said the move could affect between 20 and 40 staff. A person close to Microsoft said fewer Chinese staff will move to Canada this year, and the US tech giant is setting up new labs with experts from around the world.
But those familiar with the so-called “Vancouver Plan” say it’s a response to rising political tensions between the United States and China to prevent domestic tech groups from poaching top talent eager to boost AI researchers. He explained that it was a defensive measure to prevent Develop a domestic version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Two MSRA researchers said they had recently received a job offer from a Chinese internet company, but had turned down the offer and were applying for visas to move to Canada instead.
“Even if Microsoft has deep ties to China, there are risks in having our best researchers here, especially those working on machine learning,” said one of the researchers. “There is a risk that Chinese companies will poach talent and that employees will be harassed by the authorities. We discussed these risks at internal meetings.”
A second Microsoft researcher who is also applying for a Canadian visa said, “In a third country outside of the US and China, we may be able to bring back the old, vibrant tech debates.”
Microsoft said: “We are setting up a new lab in Vancouver, systematically aligned with his MSRA and designed to work better with our engineering team in Vancouver. Others from his MSR Institute will be staffed.”
Any decision to relocate top AI researchers risks angering the Beijing government, which is trying to lure high-tech Chinese researchers working abroad back to the mainland through generous subsidies and prestigious teaching positions.
Founded by Taiwanese computer scientist Lee Kai-fu, MSRA has become an important training center for China’s technical talent. The notable alumni list includes Wang Jian, chief technology officer of Alibaba, Shu Li, chief of SenseTime, and Ying Qi, head of AI group Megvi.
“MSRA’s contribution to AI is phenomenal,” said a Chinese technology consultant who previously worked with Microsoft. “I have been active in this field for a long time. Many former colleagues have joined Chinese tech companies and are boosting the entire Chinese AI ecosystem.”
Microsoft has been in China for over 30 years. The company maintains a strong domestic presence even as other Western tech groups such as Google, eBay, Facebook and Uber have been forced out by competition and regulation.
Microsoft has developed popular localized products such as its flagship Office and Windows software packages and the Bing search engine.
Microsoft has 9,000 employees in China, more than 80% of whom are software engineers or work in research and development, according to the company’s WeChat post in September. The post announced plans to hire an additional 1,000 staff in the country.
But most of China’s engineering talent is in global products, and any further deterioration in China-Washington ties could become an increasing problem for U.S. companies. A person close to the company said some of these talented engineers could move out of China in the future.
Microsoft-owned LinkedIn laid off staff at its China office in May after announcing that it would shut down InCareer, a simplified job application site for Chinese users in 2021 to replace the professional social networking site. .
MSRA stands out as a rare example of China-US cooperation in high-tech research. But deteriorating relations between the two countries and growing paranoia about their respective technological ambitions have narrowed the ability of the two researchers to collaborate with their Western colleagues and put them under close scrutiny from Chinese authorities. said.
The institute was criticized by Washington after the Financial Times reported that it was working with a Chinese military-run university on AI research that could be used for surveillance and censorship.
“In the past two years, AI has become a so-called sensitive field,” said one Microsoft researcher in China who is applying for a Canadian visa. “Previously, being a Chinese national and working for an American institution meant access to great resources in both countries.
Additional report by Richard Waters in San Francisco
