Microsoft President, Brad Smith, has warned that Chinese companies and research organizations are emerging as significant rivals to ChatGPT, according to a report in Nikkei Asia. Smith stated that the competition among US technology giants, such as Amazon and Google, to develop generative AI is heating up, and China will not be far behind. The Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence is at the forefront of generative AI development in China, according to Smith. The race to innovate is highly competitive, and the gap between competitors is usually measured in months, rather than years.
Generative AI is the technology behind ChatGPT, a capacity that can produce text and images at near-human levels of sophistication. The potential of generative AI has caused excitement in various fields, including business, the arts, education, and health care. However, concerns persist that it might someday displace workers by automating a lot of jobs. Some people are also worried about the potential for it to spread misinformation, contravene copyright laws, compromise privacy, and leak sensitive information.
Smith argues that the solution to such concerns is not to stifle innovation, but to use and improve on existing products. AI can be both a tool and a weapon, and it is essential to find ways to use it ethically. Smith points out that certain nation-states will use AI to launch cyber attacks and influence operations, even more so than at present. He believes the best defense lies in innovation, which can lead to stronger defense at the expense of strong offense.
On the business front, Japan's three largest banks are using ChatGPT to reduce workloads, such as responding to internal inquiries and reducing paperwork. Insurance companies, such as Tokio Marine, are also using AI systems based on the ChatGPT platform to write draft answers to queries from policyholders and insurance agents. This technology can help address one of the most significant challenges facing Asia: labor shortages.
Smith states that the working-age population must support more retired persons, and we must find new sources of productivity growth. There is no other way to grow GDP. Creating new sources of productivity growth is the key to addressing this issue.
Finally, Smith is in Japan as the country hosts the Group of Seven industrial nations. The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said that Japan will lead discussions about rules surrounding AI. Earlier this month, Kishida met with Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, to discuss ways to protect user privacy and safety.
