China is pushing the boundaries of its own AI development every few weeks, and its results are already a serious threat to Western technology. While in the West AI was an exclusive and lucrative resource available only to select companies, China, thanks to its open approach, bypasses sanctions, decentralizes development, and uses available resources for mass AI development. And thanks to the development of AI in the open-source model, hardware availability is no longer a problem, because models are voluntarily tested and improved by their users, e.g., from Europe.
If open-source AI becomes as powerful as US proprietary models, the ability to monetize AI as an exclusive product will collapse, which is a key consideration for China. The opening of AI models from China is a surprising move that may also disrupt the foundations of OpenAI’s classic AI model development — based on a small group of companies capitalizing on the latest technological advances.
China may be the country that proves that it doesn’t always pay to be first. Its approach could change the balance of power in the development of artificial intelligence. AI will also be an important weapon in the US-China technological war. The coming months will be extremely turbulent in the context of AI development, in addition to the traditional facets of US-China geopolitical and economic friction.
