US risks future AI dominance by putting all eggs in one basket
White House bets big on advanced AI systems while overlooking practical applications. This approach might give China unexpected advantage in specialized tech development
The US governmentʼs AI plans have taken a one-sided path thats raising eyebrows in tech circles. Last fall (around oct-24) Joe Bidenʼs administration released plans focused heavily on large-scale AI systems similar to ChatGPT; this narrow focus might be a risky bet
The tech world is split between two main ideas about AIs future. Some experts - like those at companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic - think big general-purpose AI will change everything: they predict these systems could become smarter than humans. Others say thats not likely and smaller specialized AI is just as important; for example AI that helps with specific tasks like protein research
- Current war-related AI success comes from narrow systems
- Most drone control systems use specialized AI
- Weapon development relies on focused AI models
- Image recognition - key for military use - needs specific AI
Meanwhile China is moving forward with practical AI use-cases (partly because they cant get advanced chips for big AI systems). Theyʼre getting really good at things like drone tech and image processing - which could be more useful in real-world situations
The governments focus on big AI systems - where America leads anyway - seems odd when you look at areas where competition with China is closer. While US tech giants pour resources into super-advanced AI that might not work out China is building lots of small but effective systems
A better plan would balance both approaches: supporting big AI projects while also pushing forward with specialized systems. The Defense Department should look into areas like bio-tech materials and flight tech where focused AI could make big changes. Its also important to think about chip making - China leads in basic chips that run simpler AI‚ and thats becoming a problem
The tech world cant predict whats next - just look at how crypto and 3d printing didnt live up to the hype back in early 2010s. Smart planning means not putting all your chips on one bet; instead spread them around to cover all possible futures
