In a recent op-ed for the New York Times, former Google CEO and Clinton lackey Eric Schmidt stated his belief that Silicon Valley could lose the technology race to China without the federal government’s help.
In a recent op-ed in the New York Times titled “Eric Schmidt: I Used to Run Google. Silicon Valley Could Lose to China,” former Google CEO and Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt argues that the Masters of the Universe in Silicon Valley must work with the federal government if they want to beat China in terms of technological development.
Schmidt discusses the issue of artificial intelligence which has been a hot button issue in the tech world in recent years, particularly how it could be used in a military setting:
Important trends are not in our favor. America’s lead in artificial intelligence, for example, is precarious. A.I. will open new frontiers in everything from biotechnology to banking, and it is also a Defense Department priority. Leading the world in A.I. is essential to growing our economy and protecting our security. A recent study considering more than 100 metrics finds that the United States is well ahead of China today but will fall behind in five to 10 years. China also has almost twice as many supercomputers and about 15 times as many deployed 5G base stations as the United States. If current trends continue, China’s overall investments in research and development are expected to surpass those of the United States within 10 years, around the same time its economy is projected to become larger than ours.
Unless these trends change, in the 2030s we will be competing with a country that has a bigger economy, more research and development investments, better research, wider deployment of new technologies and stronger computing infrastructure.
An independent federal commission on A.I., which I lead, recently concluded that if A.I. advances elsewhere outpace those of U.S. companies and the U.S. government, and give commercial and military advantages to our rivals, “the resulting disadvantage to the United States could endanger U.S. national security and global stability.” The same could be said for other emerging technologies.
Schmidt then goes on to outline how he thinks the federal government should partner with tech firms to ensure that the United States stays ahead of China:
We should plan to double funding in those fields again as we build institutional capacity in labs and research centers. These resources should support the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy and other grant-giving agencies. At the same time, Congress should meet the president’s request for the highest level of defense R & D funding in over 70 years, and the Defense Department should capitalize on that resource surge to build breakthrough capabilities in A.I., quantum, hypersonics and other priority technology areas.
We should incentivize the emergence of a competitive alternative to Huawei, the Chinese company that leads in 5G network technology, by expanding the bandwidth the government makes available to private companies.
We need unprecedented partnerships between government and industry. For example, a partnership should expand affordable access to cloud computing for university researchers and students. A new proposal from Stanford for a “National Research Cloud” offers a vision for this.
Schmidt finishes the op-ed, stating:
Ultimately, the Chinese are competing to become the world’s leading innovators, and the United States is not playing to win. A bold, bipartisan initiative can extend our country’s technology advantage beyond what many experts predict. Success matters for more than our companies’ bottom lines and our military’s battlefield edge. We must show that these new technologies can advance individual liberty and strengthen free societies. For the American model to win, the American government must lead.
Read the full op-ed in the New York Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
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