Open source AI helped China catch up to the world, researchers reckon

Chinese researchers have told The New York Times that open source software has helped them to accelerate AI development. The paper last week reported that interviews with a dozen technologists and researchers at Chinese tech companies yielded the opinion that "open source technologies were a key reason that China's AI …

[sarusa]

Seems reasonable?

Mainland Chinese are amazing engineers, can improve almost anything they get their hands on. They are also absolutely terrible at basic science, because that needs creativity which implies being too clever by half, which is politically problematic. Their moon landers and oribiters are the best of stolen NASA and ESA tech. And in this case, their AI is stolen tech with incremental improvements. Which they are absolutely fantastic at.

But it's really not an open source problem. If it weren't open source they'd steal it anyhow, that's what they're the very best at, and have been for 50+ years. That has literally been their government policy.

[Anonymous Coward]

China Taking The Lead?? Again??

Quote: "...They saw open source AI as an opportunity for the country to take a lead..."

In 1990, Deng Xiaoping scrapped Mao's complete hatred of "capitalism".

Deng had a better idea, expressed in three parts:

(1) The Chinese Communist Party would run the country -- no other opinion would be permissible

(2) Entrepreneurs could run the economy....provided that.......

(3) ....the same entrepreneurs stayed COMPLETELY away from politics

So much for Deng's forty year plan. The results are easy to see:

(4) Western accountants and bean counters recognised that China could build stuff cheaply (see Apple, Cupertino CA for a stand out example)

(5) Western design and technology was absorbed BIG TIME in China (see Apple, Cupertino CA for a stand out example; also Huawei, smartphones.....)

(6) Manufacturing in the West took a huge hit (Apple, electric vehicles.....)

....and now Deng's plan is is being applied BIG TIME to computer technology (remember Huawei.....now it is AI)

....and as a result of items #4, #5 and #6 western manufacturing and western software capabilities are being (and will be) hollowed out.

Does the west have a forty year plan?????????

[Yes Me]

Re: China Taking The Lead?? Again??

Any 40-year plan we have will be wiped out by climate change, unless it's a plan to stop burning all fossil fuels immediately.

[pavlecom]

Re: Does the west have a forty year plan?????

.. yes they have, like always, endless wars & other atrocities around the globe. To be fair, it's a everlasting plan as is.

[Michael Wojcik]

Not the '90s!

That resident likened the experience to "being back in the '90s."

Modem training tones ringing through the streets, Ace of Bass on the radio, everyone wearing flannel, Y2K preppers... What a nightmare!

[Yes Me]

Working as designed

This is excellent news, exactly what the open source movement was designed to do for the benefit of humanity. Too bad for trade warriors and chauvinists.

[pavlecom]

.. to repeat my memory

I clearly remember when all US Big Tech whining that China is a way ahead in Ai sector (2019) (& quantum). In that time Huawei Ascend 910A Ai card was No1 in the world championship. And theirs Ai coding as well.

Moreover, Huawei introduced in that time new invention, a NPU inside SoC/CPU for better mplementation of Ai functions, widely used today! Marvelous indeed.

So, thinking why comprehensive sanctions (& comprehensive lies) on China Tech have the really easy answer.

[Will Godfrey]

Ho Hum

Put an obstacle in people's way and they'll find a way round it. Who knew?

Actually the same is true of most animals - and even plants.

[O'Reg Inalsin]

What is the alternative?

Worrying about "owning" open source (including AI) is a dead end, pointless emotion. What is proposed as an alternative - only allow closed source OpenAI and the other big boys to train or operate AI?