China plans to craft policies to accelerate the build-out of nationwide computing infrastructure, seeking to lay the digital foundation for artificial intelligence.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology pledged Wednesday to push the expansion in computing power needed to drive breakthroughs in generative AI, which Beijing is increasingly prioritizing in its ongoing technological race with the US. The ministry now intends to introduce measures to guide “high-quality” development of computing networks and large language models, MIIT spokesman Zhao Zhiguo told reporters in Beijing.
The comments represent the latest show of support from Beijing for a technology it views as key to determining global economic and political leadership. This month, regulators loosened some of the guardrails they proposed for ChatGPT-style services months ago, acknowledging the need to stake China’s claim on the burgeoning field.
Beijing hasn’t yet unfurled specific policies to support AI development, but the signals of endorsement have encouraged a frenzy of domestic activity to rival a wave of investment sweeping Silicon Valley.
China’s major internet companies from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to Baidu Inc. and JD.com Inc. have joined billionaire entrepreneurs, fledgling firms and academics in an effort to build the country’s equivalent to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Read more: Billionaires and Bureaucrats Mobilize China for AI Race With US
Billionaire Baidu founder Robin Li, who in March unfurled China’s first answer to ChatGPT, has said the US and China both account for roughly a third of the world’s computing power. On Wednesday, the MIIT said that figure has grown at about 30% annually, without elaborating.
The ministry didn’t directly address how Beijing intends to resolve one of the biggest potential bottlenecks in domestic AI efforts: the lack of the highest-end chips from Nvidia Corp. to train AI models. The US has blocked Chinese companies’ ability to buy advanced chips, including some Nvidia products used to develop artificial-intelligence capabilities.
Chinese chip startup Shanghai Biren Intelligent Technology Co., regarded as a leading contender to replace certain Nvidia products, is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong as soon as this year as demand from local clients mounts.
Read more: China AI Chip Firm Targeting Nvidia Seeks HK IPO in 2023
--With assistance from Kelly Li.
(Updates with context on computing bottlenecks in the final paragraphs)
