America Invents, China Applies
Beijing's plans for a state-scale AI push.
Friends,
This week, we look Eastward. While the West concerns itself with which model is the smartest, Beijing published a 17-point plan to shove AI into every shop, clinic, and classroom in the country.
Read for our view on what Xi Jinping’s AI push means, Google’s brain drain, what satellite imagery tells us about data center build-outs, and the obscure crystal in high demand.
— Mario
P.S. To learn more about our process and vision for Generalist Intelligence, read our introductory piece. To unlock the full briefing, join as a member.
“Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them.”
— Mathematician-philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, 1911
China’s latest AI push
Earlier this month, almost entirely unnoticed by the Western press, China dropped an AI policy document – the fabulously resistible Implementation Opinions of the Ministry of Commerce and 8 Other Departments on Accelerating the Development of ‘AI+Consumption’ – that we think is worth a closer look. It feeds into two things old China hands often say: “America invents, China applies” and, effectively, “China likes central planning.” And once you get past the title and the usual platitudes about how the plan is “Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era,” it becomes clear that something serious is going on.