China Will Soon Lead the U.S. in Tech – WSJ

Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns announced in October that the agency is establishing two new major mission centers, one focusing on China and the other on frontier technologies. This action reflects his judgment that China is the most important geopolitical threat we face in the 21st century and that the main arena for competition and rivalry between China and the U.S. will be advanced technologies. The question Americans should be asking is: Could China win the technology race?

A new report on the Great Technological Rivalry from Harvard s Belfer Center answers: Yes. The report isn t alarmist but nonetheless concludes that China has made such extraordinary leaps that it is now a full-spectrum peer competitor. In each of the foundational technologies of the 21st century artificial intelligence, semiconductors, 5G wireless, quantum information science, biotechnology and green energy China could soon be the global leader. In some areas, it is already No. 1.

via www.wsj.com

There seems to be a Big Push underway, of which Eric Schmidt is big part, for a New New Industrial Policy for AI Because China. The PRC scares the BeJesus out of me, mostly because I don’t like the idea of being a little slave-termite in the world Xi is cooking for himself and other party members, and far, far down the food chain, us. Because, you know, I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. That being said, maybe Eric and friends should first get Google stop blocking China-critical stuff on YouTube, stop working on Chinese but not US defense tech, and stop doing the hundred other things we don’t even know about. I mean, we may be stupid compared to AlphaGo, but I remember my granpappy used to say something about Foxes and Henhouses. Actually he didn’t, but I’m sure he would have under these circumstances. So, Deregulation, yes; industrial policy, no.