Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) meets with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The United States has been trying to cut off China’s supply of key technologies such as advanced semiconductors for the past few years. The two sides may have discussed tech tensions, but analysts said that even if the two sides seek to improve relations, not much will change.
Leah Millis | AFP | Getty Images
The generative artificial intelligence technology underlying the viral chatbot ChatGPT could become a new battleground in the battle for technological supremacy between the United States and China, an analyst said.
Although the two countries seek to improve relations US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken Meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping This week, analysts said tech tensions are here to stay.
Washington seeks to cut China off from key technologies such as semiconductors, while China seeks to become more self-sufficient and wean itself off U.S. technology and touts its domestic industry.
“The status quo is unlikely to change much in any way, from sanctions to commercial pressure,” Abishur Prakash, chief executive of The Geopolitical Business, a Toronto-based consultancy, told CNBC via email.
Artificial intelligence is regarded as a key technology by both countries, and it is likely to be dragged into the battle between the two sides.
AI is in the ‘crosshairs’
At the same time, the United States has been seeking to promote the development of domestic technology through funds such as semiconductors. $52 billion available through the Chips and Science Act.
Washington’s attention may now turn to generative artificial intelligence.
Paul Triolo, head of technology policy at consultancy Albright Stonebridge, said: “Washington may try more to target certain types of applications in China, and generative AI could become Focus for the year ahead.” CNBC Money.
He added, “The Biden administration is identifying which technologies can both benefit China’s military modernization and improve the ability of Chinese companies to achieve breakthroughs in generating artificial intelligence.”
Generative AI is associated with apps like ChatGPT, which are able to generate content when prompted by the user.
How U.S. Restrictions Target AI
AI needs to be trained on vast amounts of data to be effective. Generative AI is based on what is known as a large language model, which means it needs to be trained on a large number of languages in order to be able to understand and respond to user prompts.
The processing of this data requires massive amounts of computing power powered by specific semiconductors, such as those sold by the US company Nvidia, which is seen as the market leader in such chips.
Some of the current restrictions in the United States are designed to Cut off China’s supply of some of Nvidia’s key chips, which in turn could hinder the development of artificial intelligence in China.
Washington is also working on a foreign investment review, which will set the rules for U.S. investment in foreign companies.
Triolo said: “The upcoming foreign investment review executive order will include restrictions on US investment in some artificial intelligence-related technologies, which will be an important sign of the direction of US technology regulation in the last two years of the Biden administration.”
China’s push for generative artificial intelligence
ChatGPT, developed by US company OpenAI, has taken the world by storm and sparked an AI arms race among US tech companies including investors Microsoft and Alphabet.
Chinese tech giants have taken notice.
Over the past few months, China’s tech giants, from Baidu to Alibaba Announced plans and launched trials for its own ChatGPT competitor.
Blinken-Xi meeting unlikely to change much
Washington has insisted its moves are in national security interests and target certain sensitive technologies.
China didn’t retaliate much. Last month, however, Chinese regulators banned operators of “critical information infrastructure” from buying chips from US firm Micron Technology, claiming the company’s products had failed cybersecurity reviews.
When Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping recently, he didn’t talk much about technology in public, but the two sides undoubtedly discussed it.
Triolo told CNBC that the U.S. will likely raise questions about Micron’s treatment, while China will raise export controls.
“Beijing sees the package (export controls) as a two-punch punch with the U.S. Chips and Science Act, aimed at decoupling the Chinese semiconductor industry from the global semiconductor ecosystem,” Triolo said.
However, the battle between the two sides was somewhat stalemate.
Blinken touched on areas of cooperation between the U.S. 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, it’s not in our interest to provide China with technology that could be used against us,” Blinken said on Monday.
Prakash said: “What China wants, the United States will not give, such as opening the chip ecosystem to Beijing, or not reviewing Chinese investment in American technology.” Because technological hegemony is about to enter its golden age. “
Unlike previous hotspots, such as 5G or TikTok, when both sides still believed that differences could be bridged, such an idea is now politically dead. The gulf between the US and China has widened to such an extent that neither superpower wants to bridge the gap. “