Months count in the race to stay ahead of China on AI, says US senator

London (CNN) — The United States measures its lead over competitors in artificial intelligence in “months,” according to a lawmaker, highlighting the intense rivalry between nations to dominate a technology poised to transform the global economy.

Posted 1:40 p.m. Jan 16 — Updated 1:40 p.m. Jan 16

Hanna Ziady

, CNN

CNN — London (CNN) — The United States measures its lead over competitors in artificial intelligence in “months,” according to a lawmaker, highlighting the intense rivalry between nations to dominate a technology poised to transform the global economy.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland Tuesday, Republican Senator Mike Rounds said the Biden administration’s decision to tighten controls on exports of advanced AI chips to China had bought the United States “a few more months” to maintain its competitive edge.

“It is so sensitive to us that we remain a leader in terms of the high-speed technology available in the most advanced chips that we measure our spread from us versus our near-peer adversaries in… months,” he said. “How many months ahead do we believe we are in the development of AI capabilities?”

Rounds added that restricting the availability of cutting-edge chips meant slowing down technological development in other countries “while we proceed as best we can to maintain our competitive edge.”

Chips — vital for everything from smartphones and electric cars to advanced computing and weapons manufacturing — have become the focal point of a tit-for-tat tech war between the United States and China.

Washington expanded restrictions on chip sales to China in October, further tightening a sweeping set of export controls introduced a year earlier. The move irked Beijing, which has vowed to “win the battle” in core technologies to bolster China’s position as a tech superpower.

A key priority for the US government is slowing the technological advancement of China’s military. According to Rounds, who sits on the armed services and intelligence committees in the US Senate, AI will influence “how we fight wars.”

“The country with an army or armed services that has employed AI will have a leg up on everybody else.”

AI is a major focus of this year’s gathering in Davos, with multiple sessions exploring the impact of the technology on society, jobs and the broader economy.

Speaking on the same panel as Rounds, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said countries and companies that embrace AI “are going to be advantaged forever” because the technology can deliver an “incredible” boost to productivity. “This is not two, three years out. You’ve got to get going now,” he added.

In a report Sunday, the International Monetary Fund predicted that AI will affect almost 40% of jobs around the world, “replacing some and complementing others.”

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