back to article Ex-Googler Eric Schmidt's think tank warns China could win global tech race

US think tank the Special Competitive Studies Project, a private spinout from the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, has warned that the period between 2025 and 2030 will be the time when global technological leadership will be decided – and the USA and like minded nations may not be able to maintain their …

  1. Paul Crawford Silver badge

    Google - so much money spent just to push adverts, is that really the crowning glory of the US tech industry?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Yes.

      Luckily those slanty eyed devils fritter their time away on solar energy , wind turbines, batteries, and nuclear reactors.

    2. jmch Silver badge

      Indeed - just like an ex-googler to define "microelectronics, AI, and 5G" as the key technologies, which are basically needed to collect data, find supposedly clever ways to get insights from data, and hardware to process the data.

      The key to technology has always been, at the root, power (in the physics sense not the political sense). The richest most (politically) powerful nations are those that use most energy per capita. The ability to (usefully) consume energy as work is the key, not how good an advertising profile you can build by tracking everything and everyone.

      Solar, nuclear and geothermal power breakthroughs are the key.

      1. gandalfcn Silver badge

        And wind. Then there is tidal.

        The PRC built wind farms with a total capacity of almost 100GW in 2020, a rise of nearly 60% on the previous year, which is more than the rest of world combined.  The US built just 16.5GW.

        China is planning at least 150 new nuclear reactors in the next 15 years, more than the rest of the world has built in the past 35

  2. chivo243 Silver badge
    Coat

    news?

    I've been saying this for sometime now. It will be really sad once China does make that quantum leap ahead of the rest of the world, I doubt they will say "Hey it's ok, we won't take advantage of the situation!

    1. gandalfcn Silver badge

      Re: news?

      The PRC probably won't go around bombing and invading countries and usurping governments like the US has been doing.

      1. GraXXoR

        Re: news?

        What on the gods' green earth gives you that idea? Look at what they started to do to HK pretty much the moment they got it back, despite PROMISING EXPLICITLY not to for fifty years.

        If that's how they treat promises, how do you think they will treat "vague gestures of compliance."

  3. Pete 2 Silver badge

    Common goals

    > the US urgently revise its innovation policies and practices to ensure the private and public sectors collaborate

    Well, the private sector wants to make enormous profits for reasons of self-enrichment. The public sector (or at least the people employed in it) want much the same. With an added portion of recognition of how clever they all are.

    So the question comes down to how much money is the USA-ian government willing to throw at the initiative?

  4. PhilipN Silver badge

    Explanation please

    "5G is critical because Chinese firms led hardware development and deployment, giving Beijing the chance to control network hardware around the world."

    I have posed the question many times as to precisely what "backdoors" etc have actually been found in Huawei kit. Never an answer. But that is now a side issue.

    How is it that telecoms companies and their engineers buy stuff which leaves "control" (sic) in the hands of the supplier? OK the supplier can - cough cough - run out of critical spare parts. Any other way or do I need to be concerned that Dyson controls my vacuum cleaner?

    1. UncleJam

      Re: Explanation please

      No Backdoors, just the problem of being able to ask for one!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Explanation please

      @PhilipN "How is it that telecoms companies and their engineers buy stuff which leaves "control" (sic) in the hands of the supplier? OK the supplier can - cough cough - run out of critical spare parts. Any other way or do I need to be concerned that Dyson controls my vacuum cleaner?"

      Multiple reasons at the beginning. Procurement had total control over who was allowed to tender excluding some western manufacturers, security was not really considered, they went for the lowest cost options without realising the impact, company profit was king, there were no strategic decisions made or planned for, no loyalty to European companies, technical prowess within the company was overridden by project management requirements to the long term detriment of the company. There is so much more that could be said, but the failure and decline in critical areas, never to be restored is due to CEO's and senior management.

    3. katrinab Silver badge
      Meh

      Re: Explanation please

      The backdoors are security vulnerabilities at a similar level and frequency to US produced items.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Explanation please

        A sufficiently advanced backdoor is indistinguishable from incompetence, and sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from an intentional backdoor.

    4. ssharwood

      Re: Explanation please

      China doesn't need a backdoor. It needs someone who can describe networks to it and identify a weak point, or someone who "forgets" to patch a single server. That someone could be at a customer or a partner. Or a lucky vendor staffer posted overseas who is also a CCP member. The info they provide makes and attack, or seeking intelligence, far easier. Proper spooks know this. See https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/opinion/international-world/china-espionage.html for examples.

      1. gandalfcn Silver badge

        Re: Explanation please

        You mean just like all other countries then. Why single out one?

  5. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    So be it with ICT and AI too.

    There are many who will tell you the West has already lost the race to capture future lead because of their increasingly obvious inequitable abuse/rigging of strategic market indicators suggesting sustainable success and glorious profit rather than reflecting increasing failure and disappearing good options ...... https://usdebtclock.org

    And their unwillingness or inability to fundamentally change or retune the core drivers now more widely being recognised as being responsible for having destroyed the American Dream Machine, rightly has any who may be able to help with such unconventional and non-traditional changes as be necessary, preferring to venture forth with novel proprietary intellectual property elsewhere when their offers of help are studiously ignored.

    What part[s] of ..... If you’re in a deep dark hole creating enemies and division, stop digging ..... does Uncle Sam not understand?

    1. imanidiot Silver badge

      Re: So be it with ICT and AI too.

      What part[s] of ..... If you’re in a deep dark hole creating enemies and division, stop digging ..... does Uncle Sam not understand?

      Given that Uncle Sam as a collective seems to have the brainpower of a not particularly bright 3 year old, probably none of it.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: So be it with ICT and AI too.

      Interestingly, the same could be said of CCP China!

      Seems it's a race to somewhere, but I can't tell if it's to the top or bottom!

    3. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Prefacing Greater IntelAIgent Gamesplay ..... Produces and Introduces AI Foreplay ‽ .*

      And whenever the initial original blueprints for the American Dream Machine are digitally remastered to better server A.N.Others in/from other commanding controlling domains/territories/sovereign spaces, is the Great Game extraordinarily rendered beyond Earthly command and control of universal power and future energy ...... with NEUKlearer HyperRadioProACTive IT?

      It's ownership you are both invited and encouraged to presume and assume, for anything less has one permanently just spectating and raging against virtual machines and future events rather than one having any remote chance of leading in them.

      And if/whenever the initial original blueprints for the American Dream Machine [circa 1954] revolve and evolve around "Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars, An Introduction Programming Manual, Operations Research Technical Manual TW-SW7905.1" which states its intention for energy to utilise and monopolise ....

      All science is merely a means to an end. The means is knowledge. The end is control. Beyond this remains only one issue: Who will be the beneficiary?

      In 1954 this was the issue of primary concern. Although the so-called "moral issues" were raised, in view of the law of natural selection it was agreed that a nation or world of people who will not use their intelligence are no better than animals who do not have intelligence. Such people are beasts of burden and steaks on the table by choice and consent.

      Consequently, in the interest of future world order, peace, and tranquillity, it was decided to privately wage a quiet war against the American public with an ultimate objective of permanently shifting the natural and social energy (wealth) of the undisciplined and irresponsible many into the hands of the self-disciplined, responsible, and worthy few.

      In order to implement this objective, it was necessary to create, secure, and apply new weapons which, as it turned out, were a class of weapons so subtle and sophisticated in their principle of operation and public appearance as to earn for themselves the name "silent weapons."

      In conclusion, the objective of economic research, as conducted by the magnates of capital (banking) and the industries of commodities (goods) and services, is the establishment of an economy which is totally predictable and manipulatable.

      In order to achieve a totally predictable economy, the low-class elements of society must be brought under total control, i.e., must be housebroken, trained, and assigned a yoke and long-term social duties from a very early age, before they have an opportunity to question the propriety of the matter. In order to achieve such conformity, the lower-class family unit must be disintegrated by a process of increasing preoccupation of the parents and the establishment of government-operated day-care centers for the occupationally orphaned children.

      The quality of education given to the lower class must be of the poorest sort, so that the moat of ignorance isolating the inferior class from the superior class is and remains incomprehensible to the inferior class. With such an initial handicap, even bright lower class individuals have little if any hope of extricating themselves from their assigned lot in life. This form of slavery is essential to maintain some measure of social order, peace, and tranquillity for the ruling upper class.

      ..... are its prime schematics/active drivers revealed for improvement and adjustment/reformatting by that which and/or those who can and will.

      * An Alien Concept/Heavenly Intervention/Diabolical Development ..... or and a Triumphant Virulent Triumvirate Compendium Exercising and Extolling the Virtues and Exhausting and Expunging the Failings in All Three Possibilities.

      Have a nice 0day, y’all.

  6. Pascal Monett Silver badge
    Facepalm

    "the US is in poor shape to catch up"

    If the US spent more money on its education system, it might be in better shape.

    It's all very nice to have prestigious universities, but if half of the students come from China, what do you think will happen ?

    Yes. China will end by dominating. A Chinese person isn't any more stupid than anybody else, and right now, China has a vast proportion of technological industries to work with.

    If you think they're not going to learn from that, go have fun at Mar-A-Lago.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "the US is in poor shape to catch up"

      >Yes. China will end by dominating. A Chinese person isn't any more stupid than anybody else, and right now, China has a vast proportion of technological industries to work with.

      China might end up dominating. It might also be India - who have also got the technological industries and an equally large pool of highly-educated talent.

      Its very likely that Asia will be the economic and political centre of the world by the end of this century.

    2. SundogUK Silver badge

      Re: "the US is in poor shape to catch up"

      The US spends plenty on education:

      https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cmd

      The issue is what is taught and how. Relentlessly teaching kids about microaggressions and white privilege isn't going to create a technically competent workforce that can compete with China.

    3. gandalfcn Silver badge

      Re: "the US is in poor shape to catch up"

      "If the US spent more money on its education system, it might be in better shape." What and not teach biblical literalism anti-science? The Trump Party RINOs and Evangelicals will never permit that. The 0ld GOP was bad enough.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "the US is in poor shape to catch up"

      It's all very nice to have prestigious universities, but if half of the students come from China, what do you think will happen ?

      I think many of will say they like it in the US and their children will grow up in the US. China's loss, US' gain.

      1. GraXXoR

        Re: "the US is in poor shape to catch up"

        I don't think you have any grasp of how the average Chinese mainlander thinks*

        * And by "thinks," I mean, "has been moulded to think by the CCP."

        Loyal Chinese citizens come over the the US or Japan etc, and study their hearts out with the sole intent and purpose of bringing that knowledge back home to China.

        "... but but... they will fall in love with the comparative luxury of the liberal US lifestyle..." I hear you say.

        Nope. They spend 16 hours per day studying and are given the minimum amount of money to survive on basic subsistence for four years. They will be counting off the days till their return and their image of the West (or Japan) will be far, far less positive than people imagine.

  7. imanidiot Silver badge
    Alert

    "The report imagines a future in which "China controls the design and production of solar, wind, and nuclear energy technology and uses its chokehold over other nations' climate transitions as leverage."

    That's already the reality. China doesn't give a rats ass about the environment and is a happily building coal power plants to keep it's growth on track and supply energie. Meanwhile the western world is chocking itself and I have little doubt rolling blackouts are going to be a thing in Europe within the next 5 years (ie, by 2025). And there is nothing that can be done about it anymore. We've already passed the tipping point with the gas supply getting cut off from Russia. We should have started building nuke plants with urgency about 10 years ago (when everybody who knows how energy grids works warned of this exact scenario).

    Meanwhile the US is headed for another civil war as the Dem/GOP gap widens and both sides entrench into extremes.

    However, I think it also remains to be seen whether the PRC will still be a thing in 5 years time. There's internal rumblings (a lot of it triggered by covid) and they're not doing so splendid on all fronts. We just don't get to see or hear a lot of it in the west.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      >That's already the reality. China doesn't give a rats ass about the environment and is a happily building coal power plants to keep it's growth on track and supply energie

      China is already the leading country in terms of renewable capacity* and rolling out faster than any other country. It also has 57 nuclear reactors in design or production. Having 400m people live in an area that has the potential to become inhabitable if climate trends continue tends to focus the mind somewhat.

      *Chinese renewable generation capacity in 2020 was more than the next 6 countries combined and nearly 4x that of the USA.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        > Chinese renewable generation capacity in 2020 was more than the next 6 countries combined and nearly 4x that of the USA.

        Citation needed. Preferably one which cites more sources than numbers provided by the CCP.

      2. imanidiot Silver badge

        China does indeed have a lot of installed "renewables" capacity. The quality of a lot of the projects is questionable and they've done a lot of "clear cut half a mountain range and cover the south faces in solar panels." Devastating local ecology and causing massive flooding and erosion issues as the panels shed all rain straight to the bottom of the mountain. Little of those downsides is ever publicised, especially outside of the PRC.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Conversely, Xi's over arching desire to micro manage the CCP and China by installing loyal political lackeys all the way down is putting a crimp on China's plans. Just look at the out of control Covid lockdowns. Question it, and lose your job.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Boffin

      The same could be said of Donald Trump. Or Boris Johnson. Or, from her actions so far, Liz Truss. Appointins loyal political lackeys is a universal government problem.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Therein lies the value of democracy - a relief valve to escape from dictatorial human nature.

        The CPP has never been a fan a democracy, but nevertheless Deng Xiaoping introduced term limits in the 80's. Others after him continued those limits, and even degraded their own power so that China would be ruled by a committee with a chairman. Leader personality cult was deprecated. Under that system China had it's best growth.

        In 2013, Xi became president and chairman, and threw that system away, concentrating all power with him by purging all who didn't obey him completely. He revoked his own term limits, and has done his best to institute a leadership personality cult echoing that of Mao - the famous "Xi Jingping thought" which is required to be memorized now by party members, and is available on an app. And now that thought includes the impractical "zero Covid", one of Xi's own ideas that nobody can challenge without getting purged and is causing immense damage.

        Oh, and look how well Taiwan has done under a democracy since 1990. Same ethnic Chinese.

        What I'm saying is don't underestimate the value of that 1000 years of British history since the Magna Carta leading up to modern British Democracy. It's not perfect, but it has real value.

  9. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    More Likely Unheralded Stealthy Options are also Freely Available

    In the Virtual Cyberspace Stakes, one also has to consider the whole of the Middle East ably challenging the West for the right of an Arabian Knight to be widely recognised as a Worthy Supreme Leader rather than their being ignored and denied as a Chosen One and Wannabe Fascist Caesar ...... once they realise the almighty potential of such a novel and noble direction and valiant course correction.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: More Likely Unheralded Stealthy Options are also Freely Available

      The squeaky wheel always gets the oil?

      1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

        Re: More Likely Unheralded Stealthy Options are also Freely Available

        The squeaky wheel always gets the oil? .... Anonymous Coward

        Indeed it does, AC, whenever tendered by Master Mechanics.

        And failing that, whenever all manner of wheels are falling off the wagon, right, left and centre, the following is what to expect and hope arrives sooner rather than later, given the damage that can be done in the interval between now and then. It is also a reply to a Register SPONSORED FEATURE aired today [Thu 15 Sep 2022 // 09:44 UTC] by Joseph Martins ... IoT is not just for business – how do we make it work for the public sector?

        Re: The First Perspective Necessary to Suffer Change in Order to Release and Realise Presently Untapped Limitless Potential

        A stumbling block and great firewall to either knock down or seal off to enclose and deny future access to unfolding empowering information and greater intelligence, is any continued internetworking power and energy supply to extant traditional command and control forces and sources/formerly established politically adept and morally corrupt executive elites/corporation/bodies/parties.

        That however is something which past grand masters rather than any present or future novel path-finding pioneers have every right to fear and expect to encounter everywhere and at every twist and turn illuminating and extending progress as new life and Live Operational Virtual Environments blossom and bear forth bitter sweet fruits to sample and enjoy/discard and destroy.

  10. gandalfcn Silver badge

    "Eric Schmidt's think tank warns China could win global tech race" How much did that cost to say the bleeding obvious?

  11. Oh_bollocks

    Murderbot shill

    I’m fairly sure any report from Eric these days is going to favor big spends on murderbots with googley-eyes. That’s my coat - I’ll see myself out.

  12. fg_swe Silver badge

    We Will Be Fine - Just Stop Decadence

    NATO+SK+JP+ANZAC is the greatest empire that has ever existed. We are so wealthy that some of our citizens have become decadent crazies. Just get rid of the "man can be woman" decadence, be proud about your own people, be proud about your nation's achievements. Get rid of the Marxist Brainfucks* COMINTERN has tried to implant into our minds.

    Get back to the basics - the traditional family and three children or more. Get rid of the decadent, sick individualism. Get rid of the rotten British cynicism masquerading as "funny".

    Stop selling rope to our prospective enemies.

    Don't offend and invade, "because we can".

    Believe that your nation's gods will help you in time of need.

    Then nobody can do anything to us. We have some technologies that lead the world since 50 years. Nobody comes close and if they don't believe it, they can get a black eye trying.

    *listen to Mr Bezmenov on YT

  13. fg_swe Silver badge

    World Leading Since 50 Years

    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Do_31

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unRKKRZMAVI

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzyYWytHnkU

    Let the commies meet their misery.

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