The US isn’t guaranteed to maintain a lead over China in the race to develop artificial intelligence, according to Alphabet Inc. President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat.
“It isn’t a foregone conclusion” that the US will keep its advantage, Porat said in an interview with Bloomberg’s Erik Schatzker Tuesday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“We’re probably a year plus ahead in models. The West is ahead in chips,” Porat said. “I think China is on par and may even be a bit ahead on what’s called diffusion of basic capabilities.”
China’s growing technological sophistication has sparked concern in Washington as geopolitical tensions between the rivals escalate. This month, the outgoing Biden administration unveiled sweeping new limits on the sale of advanced AI chips around the globe, including to many close US allies, as part of its attempt to maintain control over the emerging technology.
Porat said she has spoken with heads of states that are seeking digital transformation who told her they prefer to work with Washington, but will move forward “in the absence of the US.”
The US last month ratcheted up export controls to China for the sale of chipmaking gear and components used for AI. Washington has also been pushing the Netherlands and other allies for sweeping limits on China with the goal of slowing development of its chip sector in the name of national security.
Porat called on the administration of President Donald Trump for “bold and responsible” rules governing AI’s development. Regulation “needs to be aligned across geographies. If you have a patchwork quilt that is going to impede investment, I’m not going to want to invest,” she said.
Google has invested heavily into AI development via its premier AI lab, Google DeepMind. The company debuted a new version of its flagship artificial intelligence model, Gemini 2.0, last month as it works to ensure the latest wave of AI tools pushed by OpenAI and other startups do not loosen its hold on its core search business.
Google is also facing pressure from US antitrust regulators, with the Justice Department pushing for a forced sale of Google’s Chrome web browser. Porat said such a remedy “makes no sense.”
Her comments follow Alphabet’s Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai warning that the US government’s resolution of antitrust cases could have unintended consequences for the country’s leadership in tech.
Pichai attended President Trump’s inauguration on Monday alongside other tech magnates such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Google donated $1 million to the president’s inauguration fund earlier this month.
Trump, in one of a slew of executive orders issued on his first day of office on Monday, rescinded a Biden-era order on AI regulation, halting the implementation of safety and transparency requirements for AI developers.
While it remains unclear what will replace the order, the new administration is expected to take a more hands-off approach. Trump has previously criticized former President Joe Biden’s AI regulations as hindering tech innovation.
Written by: Christina Kyriasoglou @Bloomberg
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