This document discusses China's focus and investments in artificial intelligence technologies. It covers several areas of AI development in China, including perception AI for applications like computer vision and speech recognition. It also discusses China's investments in areas like autonomous vehicles, robotics, quantum computing, and using AI for surveillance applications. The document suggests that China's large population and government support provides an advantage for its AI sector, and that this could influence the post-COVID global order as China exports its AI technologies to other countries.

1. China’s AI Supremacy & Beyond
China and the new world order
Alex Barrera (alex@thealeph.com)
Octobre 2020

2. INDEX
1. Current cutting edge in AI
2. AI & Politics
3. AI building blocks
4. China’s AI focus
5. Decoupling
6. Post Covid-19 world order
1

3. HELLO MY NAME IS...
http://www.slideshare.net/thealeph Alex Barrera (@abarrera) 2

4. 1. CURRENT CUTTING EDGE IN AI
3

5. 1. CURRENT CUTTING EDGE IN AI
4

6. 1. CURRENT CUTTING EDGE IN AI
5

7. 1. CURRENT CUTTING EDGE IN AI
200
million CCTV*
* In 2019 6

8. 2. AI & POLITICS
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella China’s Politburo
7

9. 2. AI & POLITICS
AIDP
New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan (2017)
Made in China 2025
(2015)
TOP DOWN
(AI Dual-Use)
8

10. 2. AI & POLITICS
9

11. 2. AI & POLITICS
10

12. 2. AI & POLITICS
From Discovery to Implementation
11

13. 2. AI & POLITICS
From Discovery to Implementation
12

14. 2. AI & POLITICS
From Discovery to Implementation
13
Source: Who Is Winning the AI Race Report.Center for Data Innovation,Aug 2019.

15. 2. AI & POLITICS
From Expertise to Data
14

16. Investment bans (CIFUS)
Export restrictions
(Entity List)
2. AI & POLITICS
15

17. 2. AI & POLITICS
Chinese Investments in America
16

18. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS Talent
17
Source: America’s Got AI Talent: US’Big Lead in AI Research Is Built on Importing Researchers.MarcoPolo, Jun 2020

19. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS
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Source: America’s Got AI Talent: US’Big Lead in AI Research Is Built on Importing Researchers.MarcoPolo, Jun 2020
Talent

20. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS
These proposals include the potential suspension of the OPT program,
which allows foreign students to work in the United States for 1-3 years
following graduation, as well as legislation that would ban visas
for Chinese graduate students in any STEM field”
“ America’s Got AI Talent: US’ Big Lead in AI Research Is Built on Importing Researchers
MarcoPolo, Jun 2020
19
Talent

21. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS Software Frameworks & Platforms
Source: Which Deep Learning Framework is Growing Fastest? Jeff Hale,Apr.2019.
1.9 M Developers
(84.000 enterprises)*
*Estimates by Baidu.Wave Summit 2020.(http://research.baidu.com/Blog/index-view?id=137)
20

22. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS Semiconductors
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23. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS
22
Semiconductors
Source: AI Chips: What They Are and Why They Matter.CSET.Apr 2020

24. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS
23
Semiconductors

25. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS
24
Semiconductors
Source: AI Chips: What They Are and Why They Matter.CSET.Apr 2020

26. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS
25
Semiconductors

27. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS
Quantum Communication, Cryptology, Algorithm and Computation Patent Families
by Category and Publication Year
26
Source: Quantum Computing Applications: A Patent Landscape Report.Patinformatics.2018
Quantum Computing

28. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS
27
Source: Quantum Computing Applications: A Patent Landscape Report.Patinformatics.2018
Quantum Communication, Cryptology, Algorithm and Computation Patent Families
by Priority Country and Publication Year
Quantum Computing

29. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS
28
Source: Quantum Computing Applications: A Patent Landscape Report.Patinformatics.2018
Quantum Communication, Cryptology, Algorithm and Computation Patent Families
by Top Universities and Category
Quantum Computing

30. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS
29
Quantum Computing

31. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS Edge AI
48% local deployment
44% cloud AI deployment
13% edge*
By 2024, 50% of computer vision and speech recognition models
will run on the edge.*
*2019 AI Report IDC China
“
30

32. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS Standards
China Standards 2035
Artificial Intelligence
Cloud computing
Smart cities (IoT, 5G)
Robotics
Blockchain
31

33. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS Funding
32

34. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS Funding
33

35. 3. AI BUILDING BLOCKS Funding
34

36. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Perception AI
35
Focus on physical
Hardware heavy
Image + Audio + Text
Mobile first

37. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Perception AI
36
Focus on physical
Hardware heavy
Image + Audio + Text
Mobile first
PRIVACY?

38. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Perception AI
37
20 - 42
million dead
(1958 - 1962)
1 - 3 million dead
(1966 - 1976)

39. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Perception AI
38
KFC Hangzhou,Pay with Face Voice Interfaces Segway Robotics unmanned food delivery,Beijing
Public Service AI

40. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Surveillance AI
39
Leaked drone footage from alleged Uighur or other minorities,
Xinjiang.2019

41. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Surveillance AI
40
March,2013

42. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Surveillance AI
41
City Brain Test,Alibaba iFlytek 206 System -AI assistant for courts
Public Service AI

43. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Autonomous Vehicles
42
Qilu Transportation’s highway in Jinan,China.2018
Baidu Autonomous car testing,China.2018
New infrastructure vs. legacy

44. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Autonomous Vehicles
43
Source: How China will help fuel the revolution in autonomous vehicles.McKinsey & Co. Jan 2019.

45. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Autonomous Vehicles
44
Source: How China will help fuel the revolution in autonomous vehicles.McKinsey & Co. Jan 2019.
20 million miles
(many more in simulation)
VISAS?

46. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Autonomous Vehicles
45
Wing Loong Military UAV Drone,2017. Swarming drone system (48 cells),Oct 2020.

47. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Robotics
46

48. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Robotics
47

49. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Robotics
48

50. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Robotics
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51. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Robotics
50
Patrol robot,temperatures and disinfect wards
at a hospital in Shenyang,China
Ares Robot bought by Megvii Technology Circular inspection robot,Jiangsu

52. 4. CHINA’S AI FOCUS Others
51
Source: 2019 AI Report IDC China

53. 5. DECOUPLING
Losing intelligence insight
China AI isn’t JUST China
Source: Late-stage deals in China headline Asian funding in August.Tech In Asia.Sep 2020
52

54. 5. DECOUPLING
Global startups
vs.
local Incumbents
53

55. 6. POST COVID-19 WORLD ORDER Accelerated robotization
Source: Wuhan, JD Logistics is using a fleet of autonomous robots.2020 Source: Disinfection robots in a technological company in Qingdao.2020
54

56. 6. POST COVID-19 WORLD ORDER Enterprise adoption
Myth of big data in China
55

57. 6. POST COVID-19 WORLD ORDER Enterprise adoption
No enterprise software
Lack of normalised data
56

58. 6. POST COVID-19 WORLD ORDER
Source: 2019 AI Report IDC China 57

59. 6. POST COVID-19 WORLD ORDER
INCREASED
PARANOIA
58

60. 6. POST COVID-19 WORLD ORDER
Source: The New York Times.Sep 2020
Control
AI’s Dual-Use will increase
59

61. 6. POST COVID-19 WORLD ORDER Exporting AI
In Malaysia, the government is working with Yitu, a Chinese AI start-up, to
bring facial-recognition technology to Kuala Lumpur’s police as a complement to
Alibaba’s City Brain platform.
Chinese companies also bid to outfit every one of Singapore’s 110,000
lampposts with facial-recognition cameras.
In South Asia, the Chinese government has supplied surveillance equipment to
Sri Lanka. On the old Silk Road, the Chinese company Dahua is lining the streets
of Mongolia’s capital with AI-assisted surveillance cameras.
Farther west, in Serbia, Huawei is helping set up a “safe-city system,” complete
with facial-recognition cameras and joint patrols conducted by Serbian and
Chinese police aimed at helping Chinese tourists to feel safe.
[…] Today, Kenya, Uganda, and Mauritius are outfitting major cities with
Chinese-made surveillance networks.”
“
Source: The Panopticon Is Already Here.The Atlantic.Sep 2020. 60

62. 6. POST COVID-19 WORLD ORDER
Source: Unfavorable Views of China Reach Historic Highs in Many Countries,Pew Research,Oct 2020
Global perception
61

63. CHINA’S AI SUPREMACY?
Source: 2019 AI Report IDC China
62

64. http://www.slideshare.net/thealeph Alex Barrera (@abarrera)
THANK YOU
Alex Barrera
alex@thealeph.com

65. REFERENCES FOR FURTHER READING
64
POLITICS
“Unfavorable Views of China Reach Historic Highs in Many Countries”, Pew Research, Oct 2020
“China’s Global Image Plummets After Coronavirus”, Foreign Policy, Oct 2020
“AI Superpowers”, Kai-Fu Lee, Sep 2018
SEMICONDUCTORS
“TSMC falls into line with US export controls on Huawei”, Financial Times, Jun 2020
“AI Chips: What They Are and Why They Matter”, CSET. Apr 2020
“Can China Become the World Leader in Semiconductors?” The Diplomat, Sep 2020
AI TALENT
“Lack of quality data, tech talent hinder wider AI adoption in China”, SCMP, Dec 2019
“2019 Artificial Intelligence Report”, IDC China, 2019
“Who Benefits From American AI Research in China?”, Marcopolo, Oct 2019
“America’s Got AI Talent: US’ Big Lead in AI Research Is Built on Importing Researchers”, MarcoPolo, Jun 2020
The Global AI Talent Tracker, MarcoPolo, 2020
“Who Is Winning the AI Race: China, the EU or the United States? Report” Center for Data Innovation, Aug 2019
AI DUAL USE
“Understanding China’s AI Strategy: Clues to Chinese Strategic Thinking on Artificial Intelligence and National
Security”, Center for a New American Security. Feb 2019
“U.S. at Risk of Being Outpaced by China, a New Intel Committee Report Finds”, Foreign Policy, Sep 2020

66. REFERENCES FOR FURTHER READING
65
“Why is Trump funding quantum computing research — but cutting other science budgets?”, Washington Post, Mar 2020
“Quantum Computing Applications: A Patent Landscape Report” Patinformatics, 2018
QUANTUM COMPUTING
AI SURVEILLANCE
“The Panopticon Is Already Here.” The Atlantic. Sep 2020
ROBOTICS
“World Robotics Report 2020” International Federation of Robotics (IFR), 2020
“Kai-Fu Lee on how covid spurs China’s great robotic leap forward”, The Economist, Jun 2020