Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has warned that the US risks losing its edge to China in artificial intelligence (AI), noting that the latter needs to scale up building energy and data centers. Zuckerberg, in a note, said that the countries that lead in the development of advanced AI will contribute to a geopolitical balance of power.
“Which nations lead the development and deployment of advanced AI will contribute to a new geopolitical balance of power that will determine the prevalence of democratic values, prosperity, and security in the future,” Zuckerberg said in the note.
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China's speed in developing infrastructure
In the note, Zuckerberg emphasised that while the US and its allies have an advantage in silicon design, they have a disadvantage in speed of building energy capacity and physical infrastructure.
“On infrastructure, America and its allies currently hold an advantage in silicon design but a disadvantage in how quickly we can build energy capacity and physical infrastructure,” he noted.
“Countries like China are bringing online 1GW+ of nuclear capacity every other week, so we will need to accelerate building both energy and data centers to remain competitive,” Zuckerberg added.
{{/usCountry}}“Countries like China are bringing online 1GW+ of nuclear capacity every other week, so we will need to accelerate building both energy and data centers to remain competitive,” Zuckerberg added.
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Zuckerberg on AI leadership
The note further rad, “To develop the most advanced models and products, we must recognize that AI is likely the most competitive industry in history. Innovations are quickly copied and absorbed within months.”
He also warned that any policy that could slow AI model releases could risk the leadership of the US on the count.
“Any policy that slows American model releases — even by a month — could add significant risk to American leadership while letting foreign models race ahead. At the same time, when new capabilities emerge, it is important that the US government has advanced knowledge and resources to harden critical systems, and potentially some period of advantage in using advanced systems,” he added.
'Distribution' not 'control'
Zuckerberg also argued that advanced AI should be distributed widely rather than controlled by a small number of companies.
“As intelligence becomes abundant, the most important question will be how we direct it. Some argue that superintelligence itself or a small set of experts who control it should decide what is best for humanity. We disagree. The history of democracy and economics has shown that there is no single objective answer to how people define the best life, and therefore the best approach is letting people decide what matters in their own lives,” the Facebook founder said.
“We believe that delivering superintelligence to everyone is the way to answer this question. This follows the tradition of putting the power of supercomputers and the internet in everyone's pockets and on our desks. Rather than centralizing superintelligence, we should distribute it widely and give every person the ability to direct it. This has the potential to begin a new era of personal empowerment where individuals can use this powerful new capability to reach their full potential, pursue their interests, and improve their lives and the world more than ever before,” the note added.
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Jobs and employment
Zuckerberg observed that all new technologies create opportunities and challenges. He added that superintelligence will be one of the most important technologies in history.
“Still, it is surprising that the discourse from many developing AI is so filled with doom. I do not understand why anyone who believes that AI will eliminate most jobs and much of humanity's relevance would rush to build that future,” he also stated.
“The notion that AI is so dangerous that the only safe path is an extreme concentration of power seems inherently problematic. Historically, hoping that an absolute power will benevolently provide for humanity if sufficiently enlightened has not led to safe or positive outcomes,” he said.