Chinese Whispers: will AI be the next arms race?
Best of the Spectator
The Spectator
4.4 • 785 Ratings
🗓️ 30 September 2024
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Chinese Whispers listeners can get a 20 per cent discount on the ticket price with the code WHISPERS24. Click here to find out more and get your ticket. **
The release of ChatGPT in late 2022 brought home the sheer potential of artificial intelligence and the speed with which developments are being made. It made AI the hot topic from business to politics and, yes, journalism.
This was true in China too, despite the fact that ChatGPT has never been allowed to be used within Chinese borders. Instead, China has a rich landscape of homegrown AI products, where progress is being led by tech giants like search engine Baidu and TikTok’s owner, ByteDance. So already we are seeing a bifurcation in the AI worlds of China and the West – just like with social media and e-commerce.
This episode will peek over the Great Firewall to update listeners on China’s progress on AI. The country is fast becoming an AI superpower even as it limits the freedoms its generative models can have and keeps out some of the world’s leading companies. Could this be the next arms race?
Cindy Yu is joined by the researcher Matt Sheehan, fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a long time watcher of China’s tech scene.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before we get into today's episode, I wanted to tell you about the live Chinese Whispers podcast |
| 0:04.3 | I will be hosting at London's Battle of Ideas Festival. On the 19th of October, myself and a panel |
| 0:10.2 | of special guests will be talking the latest on China's economic slowdown, and we'll be asking, |
| 0:15.5 | what are the social and political implications of it? Is China in decline? |
| 0:20.7 | Chinese Whispers listeners can get a 20% discount |
| 0:23.0 | on the ticket price with the code Wispers 2.4. Click the link in the description to find out more and get |
| 0:29.5 | your ticket. Hello and welcome to Chinese Whispers with me, Cindy Yu. |
| 0:43.1 | Every episode, I'll be talking to journalists, experts, and longtime China watchers |
| 0:46.8 | about the latest in Chinese politics, society and more. |
| 0:50.9 | There'll be a smattering of history to catch you up on the background knowledge |
| 0:53.7 | and some |
| 0:54.5 | context as well. How did the Chinese see these issues? The release of chat GPC in late |
| 1:00.8 | 2022 brought home the sheer potential of artificial intelligence and the speed with which developments |
| 1:06.1 | are being made. It made AI the hot topic from business to politics and yes, journalism. |
| 1:12.9 | This was true in China too. When I visited earlier this year, AI was discussed almost ubiquitously. |
| 1:18.8 | This has happened despite the fact that chat GPT has never been allowed to be used within Chinese borders. |
| 1:24.3 | Instead, China has a rich landscape of homegrown AI products, where progress is being |
| 1:29.0 | led by tech giants like search engine Baidu and TikTok's owner BiteDance. So, already we are |
| 1:35.3 | seeing a bifurcation in the AI worlds of China and the West, just like other digital spheres |
| 1:40.0 | of social media and e-commerce. This episode will peek over the Great Firewall once again |
| 1:45.0 | to update listeners this time on China's progress on AI. |
| 1:48.5 | The country is fast becoming a superpower in the tech, |
... |
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