Elon Musk applauds China's 'good' A.I. certificates

July 7, 2023: Elon Musk thinks China is in a stable place to create artificial intelligence and that the country will be “great at anything it puts its mind to.” 

In remarks delivered by video on Thursday to the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, which is being held in Shanghai, the Tesla CEO did not hold back when glorifying certain aspects of the world’s second-largest economy.

“I think there’s a tremendous number of brilliant, very talented people in China,” he stated. “I’ve always respected the sheer amount of talent and drive that exists in China,” she further added.

“So I think China’s going to be great at anything it puts its mind to,” Musk added.

“So that includes, you know, many different sectors, sectors of the economy but also artificial intelligence. So, China will have powerful A.I. capability, is my prediction.

Musk has significant business interests in China. Tesla sells its electric cars there and runs a major factory in Shanghai. In May, he met with China’s Foreign Minister, Qin Gang.

He has praised Chinese automakers in the past, describing them as “most competitive in the world.” In 2020 he said, “China rocks, in my opinion.”

Musk’s most recent comments come against a backdrop of tensions between the U.S. and China over technology.

In the year 2022, Washington enacted import regulations on key chips and semiconductor equipment to China. The move could hobble Beijing’s attempts to boost its domestic industry in critical technology. But industry analysts think that Chinese chip makers will still develop their advanced semiconductors despite Washington’s attempts to cut the country off.

Interest in A.I. and its potentially transformative effects on society has recently upgraded. The past year has seen chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT garner vast quantities of publicity while discussions about whether A.I. poses a broader threat to humanity have also occurred.