Cloud Tracker Pro

Can the U.S. Beat China in AI and 5G?

According to recent news, the U.S. has fallen behind China in delivering artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which in turn is likely to cause the country to lag the PRC in at least one of the key business applications for 5G.

Let’s take it from the top. Earlier this month, Nicolas M. Chaillan, former U.S. Air Force and Space Force Chief Software Officer (CSO), told the U.K.’s Financial Times that in his view the U.S. has fallen far enough behind China in emerging tech that the tide has turned in its favor. "We have no competing fighting chance against China in 15 to 20 years. Right now, it’s already a done deal; it is already over in my opinion," he said.

Chaillan resigned from his job in September because, he stated, the government lacks adequate organization, funding, and innovation to effectively take defense IT to a level equivalent to the private sector. “Timeliness is foundational to both AI/ML [machine learning] and cybersecurity,” he wrote in a public explanation of his exit, “but also for enabling the delivery of capabilities at the pace of relevance.”

That pace is accelerated in China, where the government has thrown its weight behind innovation, while U.S. companies have no such incentive, Chaillan suggested.