Some of the world’s greatest minds have expressed concern about the development of AI without regulations — including the likes of Elon Musk, and the late Stephen Hawking.

Musk famously said unregulated AI could post “the biggest risk we face as a civilisation”, while Hawking similarly warned “the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.”

The announcement that developers will be free to experiment with AI as they see fit was made during a meeting with representatives of 40 companies including Google, Facebook, and Intel.

Strict regulations can stifle innovation, and the U.S has made clear it wants to emerge a world leader in the AI race.

Western nations are often seen as somewhat at a disadvantage to Eastern countries like China, not because they have less talent, but citizens are more wary about data collection and their privacy in general. However, there’s a strong argument to be made for striking a balance.

Making the announcement, White House Science Advisor Michael Kratsios noted the government did not stand in the way of Alexander Graham Bell or the Wright brothers when they invented the telephone and aeroplane. Of course, telephones and aeroplanes weren’t designed with the ultimate goal of becoming self-aware and able to make automated decisions.

Both telephones and aeroplanes, like many technological advancements, have been used for military applications. However, human operators have ultimately always made the decisions. AI could be used to automatically launch a nuclear missile if left unchecked.

Recent AI stories have some people unnerved. A self-driving car from Uber malfunctioned and killed a pedestrian. At Google I/O, the company’s AI called a hair salon and the receptionist had no idea they were not speaking to a human.

People not feeling comfortable with AI developments is more likely to stifle innovation than balanced regulations.

What are your thoughts on the White House’s approach to AI regulation?

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Goldman Sachs, a leading global investment firm, highlights China’s resources and ambitious plans for an intelligent economy based on AI.

The report is titled “China’s Rise in Artificial Intelligence” and says both companies and the Chinese government are putting their weight behind AI. In fact, back in July, the Chinese government announced it will increase government spending on core AI programs to $22 billion in the next few years, with plans to spend nearly $60 billion per year by 2025.

“We believe AI technology will become a priority on the government’s agenda, and we expect further national/regional policy and funding support on AI to follow,” the bank said.

Chinese giant Baidu has made a name for itself as one of the leaders in AI development. The company is often seen as the Chinese equivalent to Google, a company which is seen to be leading AI development in the West.

Guidelines on developing AI

China’s State Council has issued guidelines on developing AI in China and set the goal to become a global innovation center by 2030. The output value of AI is expected to surpass 1 trillion yuan ($147.80 billion)

AI requires vast amounts of data, and this is an area where China thrives due to its large population. The country is also known for its ‘Great Firewall’ and control over what content is able to be accessed, and from what providers.

“China understandably generates (about) 13 percent of the digital information globally. By 2020, we expect this to grow to around 20 percent to 25 percent as China’s economy emerges as the world’s largest,” Goldman Sachs predicts.

The firm also predicts China will generate around 9 to 10 zetabytes (about 1 trillion gigabytes) of data.

In order to gain the full value of AI, Goldman Sachs has identified four areas needed: talent, data, infrastructure, and computing power. Goldman believes China meets these criteria and has a ripe opportunity to take a lead in AI.

Do you think China will overtake the US in AI development?

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