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3 July 2024

China’s National Power and Artificial Intelligence

Mercy A. Kuo

The Diplomat author Mercy Kuo regularly engages subject-matter experts, policy practitioners, and strategic thinkers across the globe for their diverse insights into U.S. Asia policy. This conversation with Dr. William C. Hannas – professor at Georgetown University, lead analyst at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), and co-editor with Huey-Meei Chang of “Chinese Power and Artificial Intelligence: Perspectives and Challenges” (Routledge 2023) – is the 421st in “The Trans-Pacific View Insight Series.”

Examine the correlation between Chinese power and artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of a short list of technologies marked for priority support in China and, by some accounts, ranks at the very top. The attention the PRC government pays to AI development is reflected in state-level plans that began in 2015; by the position AI holds in China’s 14th Five-year Plan (2021-2025), where it ranks first among “frontier industries;” and by China’s unabashed goal to be the world’s leader in AI by 2030.

This aspiration is credible. Behind China’s declarations of intent are the volume and quality of Chinese AI research evidenced in peer-reviewed journals, the scale of state- and private-sector investment, the infusion of AI at all levels of education, support from its diaspora population, China’s unmatched ability to field applications, and its willingness to explore alternate paths to advanced AI beyond the large language models (LLM) that typify most global initiatives.

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