Introduction

The report was published by the Center for Security and Emerging Technology in July 2022 and tries to ascertain the steps taken by various Chinese entities towards general artificial intelligence. It has been pointed out that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) or General AI cannot be associated with human-level machine intelligence.

The paper examines what paths to general AI are available in principle. The paper identifies five theoretical paths to General AI: a) attempt to understand intelligence with cues from human behavior and create machine algorithms that emulate it, b) reverse-engineer a human brain on the assumption that what emerges is intelligence, c) force the emergence of intelligence, in theory, by running algorithms fast enough, d) expand the definition of intelligence, e) use brain-computer interface to position both elements, human and machine, to achieve human goals. In addition to these, the report also identifies three broad areas of Chinese research as potentially germane: machine learning, brain-inspired AI research, and brain-computer interfaces (BCI).

The report also gives a record of China’s top institutions engaged in one or more of the three typological areas of research such as general AI, computational approaches, brain-inspired approaches and brain-computer interfaces. Some of the prominent companies that have been involved in such research are Baidu Research, Alibaba’s DAMO Academy, Tencent AI Lab and Huawei. Chinese companies are also putting efforts to merge artificial and biological intelligence and companies that have taken significant steps are the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence, Beijing Normal University’s State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, The Chinese Institute for Brain Research and the State Key Laboratory of Brain & Cognitive Science.

The report also gives a list of Chinese entities pursuing general AI via brain-computer interfaces or neuromorphic chips such as Tsinghua University BCI Lab, Tsinghua University’s Center for Brain-Inspired Computing Research, Neural Matrix and Tianjin University’s Brain Science and Brain-like Research Center to name a few.

In addition to this, the report also gives a sneak-peek into China’s AI Monitoring system in operation. For this, the report provides a few case studies as well. Last but not the least, there are a few recommendations outlined as well.

Relevance of the Report

The report gives a good background about the various steps taken by Chinese entities towards general artificial intelligence. It also recounts the methodology used to build a database and prototype watch board that enable analysts to capture and potentially forecast China AI-related events.

Key Takeaways

• There are five theoretical paths to General AI that have been identified which helps us to understand China’s AI development without bias
• There are three-approaches towards advanced AI namely brainstream, brain-inspired and brain-computer interface
• There is a clear record of China’s top institutions engaged in one or more of the three typological areas of research such as Compute-intensive big data approaches to advanced AI
• AI monitoring system forms an integral path for safety. Apart from the US, China is another country who has been able to create advanced forms of artificial intelligence that pose unknown and potentially catastrophic risks
• China is systematically monitoring U.S. AI developments and China’s development of general AI carries potential existential risk