Tue, 28 Jan 2025

UK will not be able to resist China's tech dominance

China's AI success has come from policy and Chancellor Rachel Reeves's recent visit to China highlights the importance of a close relationship.

* China's success in technology has been a result of concerted effort to invest in future generations, including training millions of PhDs in STEM subjects.
* China now produces more than 6,000 PhDs per month, compared to 2,000-3,000 in the US and 1,500 in the UK.
* China files more patents globally than the rest of the world combined, with over 1.7 million patents filed in 2023 alone.
* Chinese lithium-ion electric batteries now cost about a seventh of what they did a decade ago, making them competitive globally.
* DeepSeek's AI model is not an anomaly, but rather a result of China's efforts to dominate the field of artificial intelligence and clean tech.
* China's consumer electronics companies are shifting into car manufacturing, with "dark factories" operated 24/7 by AI-powered robots.
* The country is referred to as an "electro state" due to its rapid electrification and dominance in clean tech patents.
* Researchers warn that China's objective of becoming the world's leading science and engineering nation may soon be achieved.
* There are concerns about censorship, democracy, and security related to China's AI industry, including access to vast amounts of data.
* The UK government faces a balancing act between promoting economic co-operation with China and addressing concerns about national interest and security.
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