China today announced plans to become a global leader in AI research and development. The country will increase government spending on basic AI programs to 22 billion dollars in the coming years, with plans to spend almost 60 billions of dollars a year to 2025.
The announcement sends a clear message: It is the age of artificial intelligence.
Reuters reports that the Chinese government will soon issue regulations on the AI sectors that concern it better safety, implementation and control. The US issued a similar statement last year in a White House review of the future of AI.
The US and China are reportedly leading the field in both private and government spending for the US machine learning and artificial intelligence, although experts have stated that China's deep learning programs have outgrown the research that is being conducted in America on the field and volume.
Private AI research needs a lot of cash from US and Chinese companies, but they also have tremendous benefits: Microsoft and Baidu of China have seen a boom in the stock market following the announcement of a partnership for automotive research.
But they are not all enthusiastic: The US military has several reservations about participating in one game of power for the global forces of AI.
US General Paul Selva expressed concern over the fact that he was in control of the AI in the army, saying at a meeting of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that he would rather see things stay below a direction that is somewhat more humane.
However, he said:
This does not mean that we must not tackle the development of such technologies, potentially identify their vulnerabilities and exploit them.
The Chinese government has also expressed its concerns. Prime Minister Li Keqiang called the AI a "strategic technology" this year and the today's announcement says:
The situation with China on national security and international competition is complex; we must take the initiative to firmly understand this new stage in the development of artificial intelligence in order to create a new competitive advantage.
It remains to be seen who will become the world leader in artificial intelligence.
