- The last few years of US-China tensions have been marked by a bilateral struggle for technological supremacy.
- The U.S. government is trying to cut China off from key technologies such as semiconductors, while China seeks to become more self-sufficient and away from U.S. technology.
- Analysts now say that generative artificial intelligence, the technology behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT, could be the next battleground between the two countries.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. In recent years, the United States has tried to cut China off from key technologies such as advanced semiconductors. The two countries have likely discussed tensions in the tech sector, but analysts don’t expect much change despite the two countries’ efforts to improve ties.
Leah Millis | AFP | Getty Images
Generative artificial intelligence, the technology behind the viral chatbot ChatGPT, could become the new battleground in the battle for technological supremacy between the United States and China, according to one analyst.
Analysts expect tensions in the technology sector to continue, even as the two countries seek to improve ties after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week. there is
While the U.S. government seeks to cut China off from key technologies such as semiconductors, China promotes its domestic sector to become more self-sufficient and away from U.S. technology.
Abishul Prakash, CEO of Toronto-based advisory firm The Jipolitical Business, told CNBC in an email: That is unlikely to change,” he said.
AI, which both countries regard as a key technology, is likely to get caught up in the battle between the two countries.
Meanwhile, the United States is seeking to leverage funds, including $52 billion available through the Chips and Sciences Act, to boost its own technology, including semiconductors.
Washington’s attention now seems to be on generative AI.
“There could be more attempts from Washington to target the development of some applications in China, with generative AI targeted next year,” said Paul Triolo, head of technology policy at consulting firm Albright Stonebridge. It’s possible,” he said. CNBC.
It “will come as the Biden administration decides which technologies could benefit China’s military modernization, and which technologies could also enhance the ability of Chinese companies to make breakthroughs in generative AI.” he added.
Generation AI relates to applications such as ChatGPT that can generate content in response to user prompts.
For AI to work, it must be trained on vast amounts of data. Generative AI is based on so-called large language models, which means that it is trained in a huge amount of languages to be able to understand and respond to user prompts.
Processing this data requires large amounts of computing power powered by specific semiconductors, such as those sold by the US company Nvidia, which is considered the market leader in such chips.
Some of the current U.S. regulations are aimed at cutting China off from some of Nvidia’s core chips, which could hinder China’s AI development.
The Washington government is also implementing a foreign investment review that establishes rules for US investments in foreign companies.
“The forthcoming executive order to review foreign investment will include restrictions on U.S. investment in certain AI-related technologies,” Triolo said. It will be a big indicator,” he said.
Developed by American company OpenAI, ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, sparking something of an AI arms race between American technology companies, including its investors Microsoft, and Alphabet.
Chinese tech giants are also taking notice.
Over the past few months, Chinese tech giants from Baidu to Alibaba have announced plans and launched trials for their ChatGPT rivals.
The Chinese government has accused the United States of violating international trade rules through sanctions, and has said the suppression of China’s semiconductor industry amounted to “bullying.”
The US government claims the move is for national security and targets specific classified technology.
China has not retaliated much. But Chinese regulators last month barred operators of “critical information infrastructure” from buying chips from U.S. company Micron, citing the company’s products as failing network security reviews.
Technology wasn’t talked about much in public when Mr. Blinken recently met with Mr. Xi in China, but the two countries have certainly talked about it.
Triolo told CNBC that the U.S. would likely raise questions about its treatment of Micron and China would bring up export controls.
“Beijing saw the package [export controls]the US Chips and Science Act is a one-two punch aimed at isolating China’s semiconductor industry from the global semiconductor ecosystem,” Triolo said.
However, the two sides are in a somewhat stalemate.
Brinken spoke on areas of cooperation between the United States and China, such as the climate crisis and the economy. But advanced technology is one area where the two countries are still competing.
“But at the same time, as I said earlier, it is not in our country’s interest to provide China with technology that could be used against us,” Blinken said on Monday.
“We are not going to give the U.S. what China wants, such as opening up the semiconductor ecosystem to the Chinese government and not scrutinizing Chinese investments in U.S. technology,” Prakash said. “America-China War This is because technology supremacy is about to reach its heyday. “
Unlike previous flashpoints such as 5G and TikTok, where both sides still believed their differences could be bridged, such ideas are now politically dead. The divide between the US and China is so widening that neither superpower wants to bridge it. “
