Tag: china

Demis Hassabis: China is just «months» behind US in AI capabilities

China is great at playing catch-up, but can they innovate? That’s the next challenge, Hassabis, says. (Picture: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
The CEO of Google’s DeepMind has some choice words for China in a recent podcast.

They might be «just a matter of months» begin Western capabilities, he tells CNBC.

— The question is, can they innovate something new beyond the frontier? So I think they’ve shown they can catch up … and be very close to the frontier … But can they actually innovate something new, like a new transformer … that gets beyond the frontier? I don’t think that’s been shown yet, he tells the new podcast The Tech Download.

The key tech to unlock Chinese AI is access to chips, he says, where the USA is far ahead. The US recently okay’ed exports of the powerful H200 chip from Nvidia, but reception in China has been lukewarm from authorities.

— To invent something is about 100 times harder than it is to copy it, says Hassabis on the podcast. — That’s the next frontier really, and I haven’t seen evidence of that yet, but it’s very difficult.

Read the full scoop on CNBC.

Reuters sources: Nvidia H200 not allowed in China

The H200 was getting popular in China, being miles ahead on performance. (Picture: generated)
Several sources are telling Reuters that the H200 chips are not permitted to enter, and authorities have told technology execs explicitly to not purchase the chips.

The H200 was cleared by Commerce for export to China in December and got finally approved this week.

They are much more powerful than anything on the Chinese market, and Nvidia received so many orders, they ran out.

Though the sources from Reuters say officials have not given any reason for this ban, it is likely in order to protect their domestic chip industry.

They do say that chips can be bought «when necessary» or for research and development programs with Chinese universities.

Read the full scoop at Reuters.

Nvidia struggles with huge Chinese orders for the H200, asks TSMC for help

The H200 chip is a huge leap forward for Chinese infrastructure firms, compared to local capacity. (Picture: Generated)
Citing five sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reports a boom in Chinese chip orders from Nvidia, which far outstrips supply.

Nvidia currently sits on some 600K high performance H200 chips, recently cleared for China, but Chinese companies have placed orders for a whopping 2 million of them for 2026.

This has led Nvidia to re-approach TSMC for another production run, Reuters reports.

This is notwithstanding regulatory pressure from the Chinese government, who have not said if they will allow the chips in the country.

They are instead considering bundling H200 purchases with domestically produced chips, Reuters says, in order to boost their internal industry.

Read the scoop at Reuters.

New Chinese AI rules should spread «core socialist values,» identify as AI

China's new rules require AIs to identify as such, and to spread "core socialist values."
It is almost like China has learned from AI adoption in the west. (Picture: generated)
Newly published AI rules in China address both AI psychosis, and forbids spreading of rumors or endangering national security.

They also require that any AI that engages with people should announce at the start that they are talking to an AI, with new warnings every two hours, writes Gizmodo.

Also forbidden are «illegal religious activities,» obscenity, violence or crime, and the list goes on to cover libel and insults, material that damages relationships — or encouraging self harm and suicide.

There aren’t just warnings for using AI chatbots too long, but providers should also assess the user’s emotional state — and take «necessary measures to intervene,» writes Reuters.

Read more: Writeups on Reuters, Gizmodo.

Alibaba partners with Nvidia for «physical AI» training software

Alibaba is massively expanding its AI research and reach, and is recruiting help from Nvidia.
Alibaba won’t say if they’ll use any Nvidia chips, but says they can help out with robotics. (Picture: Adobe)
Nvidia chips are as good as banned in China, but that doesn’t stop the internet giant Alibaba from partnering with the chip supplier — and see its stocks surge 10%.

Alibaba recently decided to «double down» on AI, according to this Reuters report, and promised $53 billion in AI infrastructure investments during the next three years – with even more coming.

Nvidia is slated to help develop physical AI functions like data synthesis, model training, environmental simulation and validation testing, Reuters says.

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