While AI has potential negative consequences, we cannot restrain or limit technology to the point that China becomes the world leader. We are in a race with China, driving a Chevy Corvette, and if we are limited to a Ford Escape, we are doomed to lose. We cannot let China win this battle, because our world will change with AI, and the leader of AI will become the leader of the world. That is China’s dream, and we can’t be stuck legislating roadblocks while China goes full throttle.
People don’t yet know AI’s potential power, but it is moving fast, and everyone needs to get on the bus. All IMO.
https://merics.org/en/report/embodied-ai-chinas-ambitious-path-transform-its-robotics-industry
“President Xi Jinping has consistently emphasized two things; that emerging digital technologies should contribute to the “real economy” (实体经济)7 and they should enable a “smart society” (智慧社会)8 under “smart governance” (智治).9 Diffusing cognitive, human-like AI within the physical world to fix domestic challenges, such as replacing a shrinking workforce, closing gaps in Beijing’s powerful surveillance infrastructure, or modernizing military systems would be consistent with this vision. China is scaling up the competition for everyone, but internally it is also staking its future on this technology.
China’s vast, diverse manufacturing base gives it an advantage in industrial robotics. The “AI Plus” national strategy (AI+) envisions robots as one of the “intelligent terminals” diffusing AI throughout China’s economy.10 Chinese robotics firms are focused on integrating AI to build robots that can think, learn, and work alongside humans.
If they succeed, the future could look like this: components from Germany and Japan go into smart robots made in China that work autonomously inside dark factories, producing massive quantities of the goods that German and Japanese companies used to make best, such as cars – with unmatched precision and at a fraction of the cost. China could then replace imports of components, software, and machine tools with its own supply chains, becoming more self-sufficient in robotics.
While humanoids are the shiniest face of AI embodiment, the seamless collaboration between humans and machines that Beijing envisions goes much deeper. Foundation models are reinventing robot training, as increasingly advanced AI models are being developed that understand, predict, and operate within the physical world. This field is not yet mature, but Chinese firms and research institutes are actively exploring it. However, Chinese robotics and humanoid firms remain reliant on the physical AI stack of a US technology company, Nvidia.11
AI embodiment is likely to create challenging disruptions that could strain the CCP’s social contract. China’s domestic debate on the risks to employment, and hence ultimately to growth, is becoming increasingly lively.”