Work: "If you go to China and talk about AI...I haven't been to China myself...but everyone who goes talks about the optimism Chinese citizens have about AI...we've been conditioned by our movies and our TVs and our books...[leading to] a skeptical and more fearful view" https://twitter.com/RikeFranke/status/1387846769539698691

Oracle CEO Catz: "It's really only the United States and China that have the resources -- commercial might, talent, and innovation ecosystems -- to lead the world in AI"

Catz emphasizes the NSCAI Final Report assessment that "the US leads in chip design but...lags behind Taiwan and South Korea -- who are our allies -- in leading-edge chip production. Meanwhile China is heavily investing in chip production"

Catz: "China's government is able to collect and pool data far more easily than the United States government...and has systemic advantages...military-civil fusion and far-larger population"

Catz: "US firms and universities are the world leaders in creating cutting-edge AI algorithms, but they are often open source. Meaning China is rapidly closing this gap and could overtake the US in AI algorithm development in as soon as 5 years, maybe 10."

Catz: "The Chinese government has proven capable at applying AI at scale, particularly for mass surveillance in ways that are -- of course -- antithetical to our values."

Note: Catz might want to read @MaraHvistendahl's recent reporting on her own company's activities in China.

Catz: "China is also far ahead of the US in certain applications, such as: smart cities, facial recognition, and mobile payments."

Catz: "Basically we concluded that the US leads in algorithms, hardware and talent...but that lead is not ensured. And China has widely stated its ambitions to the lead the world in AI by 2030...including quantum computing, 5G, and synthetic biology."

Catz: "This is a serious race and the winners really do set the table for what goes on around the world."

Catz: "At the national level we recommend establishing the Technology Competitive Council -- TCC -- at the White House, where [it's] the center of our leadership...The council would need to develop and oversee a strategic national approach to these emerging technologies"

Catz: "Leadership...the other thing is TALENT. We have a huge talent deficit. We have to build new pipelines for talent...and expand existing programs in government. We want the world's best researchers"

CC: @CitationsPod for yesterday's episode

Catz: "We've got to build talent to buy, build, and use AI technology. The US has to -- we believe -- create a civilian national reserve DIGITAL corps. And create a pipeline of tech talent that can come into the government through the US Digital Service Academy."

Catz: "And for national competitiveness we've got to pass the National Defense Education Act too. The demand for AI talent...is expanding...the private sector needs them...but we've got to deepen our domestic talent pool by starting all the way at K and going all the way to 12"

Catz: "I know you're all hearing it on the news every day...we've got microchip shortages...it's a national security risk [which] we can't live with..."

Catz: "We've got to double-down on microelectronics research...We've got to target our export controls on key semiconductor manufacturing equipment in coordination with our allies."

Work: "With my glass half-empty hat on...gosh, we haven't progressed much since 2014...With my glass half-full hat on, though, uh, it appears the Department is now getting itself organized for combat. The [JAIC] now reports to the deputy secretary...we have a Chief Data Officer."

Work: "In 2025 we need to have an applications engine for the department...in our view that is the JAIC. The JAIC would be responsible for pushing applications at scale across the department. We need to have more money in basic AI research in the dept....up to $8B a year."

Work: "It's really having the department embrace AI as kind of the fundamental technology they have to get right if they're going to win on a future battlefield."

David McCormick -- CEO of Bridgewater Associates -- asks Safra Catz -- CEO of Oracle -- "Are we set up well to compete with China given that we're a democracy?...How confident are you that our democracy will be able to respond [to China's authoritarian abilities]"

Catz claims there will be Admirals and Generals who are made "as a result of harnessing the technology in a way that still aligns with our values of democracy and freedom and privacy and all those things...we are fighting for."

Note: DoD has contracted w/ X-Mode, Clearview AI...

Catz: "It may even be battles we don't know about...battles averted...battles in secret..."

Work quoting Biden: "I predict to you that your children are going to be doing their doctoral theses on who succeeded: democracy or autocracy."

Work: "We're being out-hussled by China...you know, they're playing a good hand...but they're playing a good hand...but we're not playing the hand we have"

Channeling Bush here.

I can only quote this narrative for so long without interjecting that the "democracy v. authoritarianism" narrative entirely misses that the dictatorships in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and UAE are some of our closest allies and weapons buyers.

Bridgewater CEO McCormick asks Oracle CEO Catz "how should the US private sector and public sector collaborate on this issue of such enormous national significance?"

Bridgewater CEO McCormick circles back to China having "enormous" amounts of data and what it would take for the US to compete.

Catz: "We have plenty of data to train our algorithms...my office alone is probably shooting millions of people -- pieces of data"

LOL

Catz: "I know [China] doesn't care about privacy, but *we* do."

Work: "The one thing we haven't had is a Sputnik moment. You know, that moment occurred for China when Lee Sedol was defeated by AlphaGo Zero in the game of Go. And that game has such a cultural significance in China that it shook the entire country up."

Work: "We've got the Endless Frontiers Act which says: 'let's spend a hundred billion dollars in research and development on these advanced technologies'...The United States is gearing up"

Work: "You need to at least report where your capital is coming from...there are all sorts of tax incentives we could do to really get...fabrication facilities inside the US...that's gonna have to be a public-private partnership...we're talking $40B for a fabrication facility"

Work: "We have some of the finest companies [laughs] Google and Oracle and Microsoft. You just go down the list and Boom boom boom boom boom."

I had to go back and see if Bob Work's role as Principal at WestExec Advisors -- formerly ran by the current Secretary of State -- was mentioned.

It wasn't. Just NSCAI, TeamWork LLC, CNAS.

'Thinker, Tanker, Scholar, Consultant.' @mideastXmidwest

https://westexec.com/robert-o-work/