A U.S. Secret Weapon in A.I.: Chinese Talent
A U.S. Secret Weapon in A.I.: Chinese Talent
AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.New research shows scientists educated in China help American firms and schools dominate the cutting-edge field. Now industry leaders worry that worsening political tensions will blunt that edge.



  More of China’s top A.I. talent ends up in the U.S. than anywhere else.




  Of 128 researchers with undergraduate degrees from Chinese universities whose papers were presented at the A.I. conference, more than half now work in the U.S.














By Ella Koeze·Original sample was made up of 671 authors of a random selection of 175 papers selected from the over 1,400 papers presented at NeurIPS 2019, a top A.I. conference. None of the 128 researchers represented here are current students. Post-graduate work countries are based on where the researcher lives, not where their company or institution is headquartered. Data is current as of the first quarter of 2020. | Source: MacroPolo



Published June 9, 2020Updated April 13, 2021When the Defense Department launched Project Maven, an effort to remake American military technology through artificial intelligence, it leaned on a team of about a dozen engineers working at Google. Many of them, according to two people familiar with the arrangement, were Chinese citizens.The Pentagon was fine with that, they said, even amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. Classified data was not involved, the Pentagon reasoned, and the American military needed the most qualified minds for the job.The Trump administration is now moving to limit Chinese access to advanced American research, as relations between the United States and China reach their worst point in decades. That worries many of the companies and scientists in the heady realm of cutting-edge A.I., because much of the groundbreaking work coming out of the United States has been powered by Chinese brains.A new study from MacroPolo — a think tank run by the Paulson Institute, which promotes constructive ties between the United States and China — estimated that Chinese-educated researchers comprised nearly one-third of the authors of the papers accepted and promoted at a prestigious A.I. conference last year, more than from any other country. But it also found that most of them lived in the United States and worked for American companies and universities.The study shows they are helping to power American dominance over a strategically important field, one that can enable computers of the future to make decisions, identify faces, find criminals, pick military targets and drive vehicles.Many studied in the United States, grew comfortable living there and found work with American employers. They now worry that the flow of students and professionals will come to an end.



  Many top A.I. researchers start their academic careers in China, but they don’t stay there.




  Below are the work and education backgrounds of 671 authors of 175 papers selected randomly from over 1,400 papers presented at NeurIPS 2019, a top A.I. conference.














By Ella Koeze·Authors who are current undergraduate and graduate students are included in the totals for stages of their careers they’ve reached but not later stages. Post-graduate work countries are based on where the researcher lives, not where their company or institution is headquartered. Data is current as of the first quarter of 2020. | Source: MacroPolo



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