Topics
Latest
AI
Amazon
Image Credits:Web Summit YouTube(opens in a new window)
Apps
Biotech & Health
Climate
Image Credits:Web Summit YouTube(opens in a new window)
Cloud Computing
DoC
Crypto
endeavor
EVs
Fintech
fund-raise
contraption
Gaming
Government & Policy
Hardware
layoff
Media & Entertainment
Meta
Microsoft
Privacy
Robotics
security system
societal
Space
startup
TikTok
Transportation
Venture
More from TechCrunch
result
Startup Battlefield
StrictlyVC
Podcasts
Videos
Partner Content
TechCrunch Brand Studio
Crunchboard
get through Us
In a bold move last month , Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang took out a full - page advert in The Washington Post , recite President Trump that “ America must acquire the AI warfare . ”
The statement sparked interracial reactions , as watch during Wang ’s appearance Sunday during the possibility dark of Web Summit Qatar . When Wang ’s interviewer , Axios ’ Felix Salmon , polled the way , asking how many people jibe with that opinion , he count just two hand . When he asked the room how many disagreed , Salmon observe an “ consuming ” number of hands went up .
So Salmon ask Wang to defend his opinion . “ AI is live to fundamentally change the nature of national security , ” Wang explain . He noted that he develop up in Los Alamos , New Mexico “ the birthplace of the atomic bomb ” and that both of his parent were physicist who work at the National Lab .
Wang said he views this as a race between the U.S. and China . And he expressed concern that AI will allow China to “ leapfrog ” the military might of “ Western powers , ” which is what instigate the full - page ad .
Wang was echoing lyric that ’s increasingly amount from defense technical school startups and VCs . They are pushing for more self-sufficiency in AI weapons and more AI weapons by and large . Theypoint to China , hypothesizinga situation where China unfreeze full autonomous AI weapons , while the U.S. is slowed by requiring a human conclusion - maker in the grummet before firing .
Beyond the suppositious artillery of another nation , Wang tried to make the case for choosing between China and the U.S. for baseline LLM models . He think this will also be a two - horse airstream , not mention other player like France ’s Mistral . He argued that U.S. fashion model bake in liberal speech where Chinese models reflect communistic society stand .
It ’s on-key that researcher have discovered that many democratic Taiwanese LLM models have their government ’s censoring baked in . And concernsover Chinese government backdoorsfor data gathering plague the Chinese models as well .
Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Wang ’s tell concern about governing influence in AI seemed especially timely as his talk coincide with Scale announcing an agreement with the Qatar government . denote on Sunday , Wangsaid Scale willhelp Qatar build out 50 AI - powered government apps , ranging from education to healthcare .
Scale is mostly known for employinglegions of contract bridge proletarian , often overseas from the U.S. , to manually help train theoretical account . It works with Microsoft , OpenAI , Meta , most of the major U.S. foundational models . It also offers other products , like an AI data engine and AI apps , some designed for the defence mechanism industry .
The overt pro - American spoken communication likely serve Scale AI well with its DoD customers . But the Web Summit talking also showcased how many people seem every bit uncomfortable with the U.S. get AI superpowers , too .
