China and Russia have declared 2020 and 2021 as years of scientific and technological innovation cooperation, focusing on biotech, artificial intelligence, and robotics.1 Both countries view AI as critical to their respective domestic and foreign policy objectives, and they are ramping up investments in AI-related research and development, though China’s investments far outweigh Russia’s. U.S. observers are watching this convergence between America’s two key competitors with increasing concern, if not alarm. Some worry that alignment between Beijing and Moscow, especially in the areas of science and technology, could accelerate the development of surveillance tools to enhance authoritarian control of domestic populations. Others warn that deepening Sino-Russian cooperation will dilute the effects of sanctions on Russia. Still others fear that the strengthening partnership between China and Russia will undermine U.S. strategic interests and those of its democratic allies in Europe and Asia.2
Chinese and Russian sources are keen to publicize their “comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era,” potentially underscoring the seriousness of their joint ambitions.3 Yet the scale and scope of this emerging partnership deserve closer scrutiny, particularly in the field of AI. To what extent are China and Russia following up on their declared intentions to foster joint research, development, and commercialization of AI-related technologies? In other words, how do we separate headlines from trend lines?
This issue brief analyzes the scope of cooperation and relative trends between China and Russia in two key metrics of AI development: research publications and investment. Read More
Daily Archives: August 30, 2021
GAN Objective Functions: GANs and Their Variations
There are hundreds of types of GANs. How does an objective function play into what a GAN looks like?
If you haven’t already, you should definitely read my previous post about what a GAN is (especially if you don’t know what I mean when I say GAN!). That post should give you a starting point to dive into the world of GANs and how they work. It’s a solid primer for any article on GANs, not to mention this one where we will be discussing objective functions of GANs and other variations of GANs currently out there that use twists on defining their objectives for different results. Read More
The Future of AI in 2025 and Beyond
By 2025, artificial intelligence (AI) will significantly improve our daily life by handling some of today’s complex tasks with great efficiency.
The leading AI researcher, Geoff Hinton, stated that it is very hard to predict what advances AI will bring beyond five years, noting that exponential progress makes the uncertainty too great.
This article will therefore consider both the opportunities as well as the challenges that we will face along the way across different sectors of the economy. It is not intended to be exhaustive. Read More
Spies for Hire: China’s New Breed of Hackers Blends Espionage and Entrepreneurship
The state security ministry is recruiting from a vast pool of private-sector hackers who often have their own agendas and sometimes use their access for commercial cybercrime, experts say.
China’s buzzy high-tech companies don’t usually recruit Cambodian speakers, so the job ads for three well-paid positions with those language skills stood out. The ad, seeking writers of research reports, was placed by an internet security start-up in China’s tropical island-province of Hainan.
That start-up was more than it seemed, according to American law enforcement. Hainan Xiandun Technology was part of a web of front companies controlled by China’s secretive state security ministry, according to a federal indictment from May. They hacked computers from the United States to Cambodia to Saudi Arabia, seeking sensitive government data as well as less-obvious spy stuff, like details of a New Jersey company’s fire-suppression system, according to prosecutors. Read More
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