China leans into using AI − even as the US leads in developing it

In the competitive arena of global technology, China’s ambitions in artificial intelligence stand out – not just for their scale but for their distinct strategic approach.

In 2017, the Chinese Communist Party declared its intent to surpass the United States to become the world leader in AI by 2030. This plan, however, is less about pioneering novel technologies and more about strategically adapting existing ones to serve state economic, political and social objectives.

While both China and the United States are actively pursuing AI technologies, their approaches differ significantly. The U.S. has traditionally led in fundamental AI research and innovation, with institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford and tech giants such as Google and Microsoft driving breakthroughs in machine learning. This innovation-first approach contrasts with China’s focus on adaptation and application of existing technologies for specific state objectives.

The United States’ AI development is primarily driven by a decentralized network of academic institutions, private companies and government agencies, often with competing interests and a focus on commercial applications. In contrast, China’s AI strategy is more centralized and state directed, with a clear focus on supporting government initiatives such as social control and economic planning.

AI for ideological control

At the heart of China’s AI strategy lies its effort to embed the technology in the machinery of the government’s ideological control. A prime example is the Xue Xi chatbot developed by researchers at China’s top-ranked university, Tsinghua University. Unlike Western AI models designed to foster open-ended dialogue, Xue Xi was trained in part on “Xi Jinping Thought” to indoctrinate users – likely initially to be party members in government – with Communist Party ideology.

This isn’t just a singular initiative but part of a broader trend. AI-driven surveillance systems, like the facial recognition technology deployed across the Xinjiang region of China, enable the government to maintain tight control over the area’s minority Muslim Uyghur population.

These technologies are not groundbreaking. They build on existing innovations but are finely tuned to serve the Communist Party’s efforts to maintain social order and prevent dissent. China’s AI prowess comes not by creating the newest technology but by mastering and deploying AI in ways that align with its ideological imperatives.

AI for economic control

China’s AI strategy is also deeply intertwined with its economic ambitions. Faced with slowing growth, the Communist Party views technology as the essential tool for pulling the country out of its economic slowdown. This is particularly evident in sectors such as manufacturing and logistics, where AI is used to drive efficiencies and maintain China’s competitive edge in global supply chains. For example, companies such as online retail giant Alibaba have developed AI-driven logistics platforms that optimize delivery routes and manage warehouse operations, ensuring that China remains the factory of the world.

Additionally, China’s social credit system, which rates citizens on their civic and financial behavior, represents a significant strategic initiative where AI plays an increasingly crucial role. China’s system is designed to monitor and influence citizen behavior on a massive scale. Although AI is not yet fully implemented across the entire social credit system, it is being integrated to track and analyze vast amounts of data, such as financial transactions, online interactions and social relationships in real time.

This data is then used to assign scores that can affect various aspects of life, from loan approvals to travel permissions. As AI becomes increasingly embedded in the system, it is likely, I believe, to further reinforce state control and ensure societal compliance, prioritizing government oversight over personal autonomy.

Strategic exports

On the international stage, China is exporting its AI technologies to expand its influence, particularly in developing nations. Through the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese tech giants such as Huawei and ZTE are providing AI-driven surveillance systems to governments in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America. These systems, often framed as tools for improving public safety, are part of a larger strategy to export China’s governance model.

For instance, in Zimbabwe, Chinese firms have helped implement a nationwide facial recognition system under the guise of combating crime. Political activists in Zimbabwe fear that technology is being used to monitor political opponents and activists, mirroring its use in China. By exporting AI technologies that are tightly integrated with state control, China is not only expanding its market share but also promoting its authoritarian model as a viable alternative to Western democracy.

AI for strategic military advantage

China’s military ambitions are also tightly linked to its AI strategy. The People’s Liberation Army, China’s military, is investing heavily in AI-driven autonomous systems, including drones and robotic platforms. These technologies are not necessarily the most advanced in the world, but China is adapting them to fit its strategic needs.

China is developing AI systems to support its naval operations in the South China Sea, a region of significant geopolitical tension. China is deploying autonomous submarines and surveillance drones to monitor and potentially disrupt foreign military activities in the region. This strategic use of AI in military applications highlights China’s focus on using existing technologies to achieve specific geopolitical objectives, rather than seeking innovation for its own sake.

Calculated strategy

China’s approach to AI is a calculated strategy of adaptation and application, rather than raw innovation. By mastering the use of existing technologies and aligning them with state objectives, China is not only bolstering its domestic control but also reshaping global power dynamics.

Whether through ideological indoctrination, economic control, strategic exports or military advancements, China’s AI playbook is a powerful reminder that in the realm of technology, how tools are used can be just as transformative as the tools themselves.

Shaoyu Yuan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Stuck bridges, buckling roads − extreme heat is wreaking havoc on America’s aging infrastructure

Summer 2024’s record heat is creating problems for transportation infrastructure, from roads to rails.

New York’s Third Avenue Bridge, which swings open for ship traffic on the Harlem River, was stuck for hours after its metal expanded in the heat and it couldn’t close. Roads have buckled on hot days in several states, including Washington and Wisconsin. Amtrak warned passengers to prepare for heat-related problems hours before a daylong outage between New York and New Jersey; the risks to power lines and rails during high temperatures are a growing source of delays for the train system.

It doesn’t help that the worsening heat is hitting a U.S. infrastructure system that’s already in trouble.

The American Society of Civil Engineers gave U.S. infrastructure an overall grade of C- in its latest national Infrastructure Report Card, released in 2021. While there has been some improvement – about 7.5% of U.S. bridges were in poor condition, compared with over 12% a decade earlier – many bridges are aging, making them difficult to maintain. Forty percent of the road system was considered in poor or mediocre condition, and maintenance costs have substantially increased.

The rate at which a bridge or road deteriorates depends not only on the materials and construction methods used but also on the climate during the structure’s life span. Extreme heat, in particular, significantly affects transportation infrastructure. As climate change progresses, the frequency and intensity of heat waves are expected to increase, exacerbating these issues.

I lead the Smart Infrastructure and Testing Laboratory at the University of Texas at Arlington, where my team works on ways to better monitor the structural health of infrastructure. Here’s why infrastructure struggles in the heat – and how engineers are innovating to help extend its life.

Buckling highways pose a hazard for drivers

When a road is built, it is cut into segments to create space for the pavement to expand during high heat or to contract in the cold. Without that space, the pavement can buckle when the road material heats up. Buckling of concrete pavement has become a serious problem in several states.

Pavement becomes vulnerable to buckling for a number of reasons. The roadway’s design, the materials it is made out of, the climate when it was built and the weather during its lifetime can affect its life span, as can damage to the road and improper repairs.

Extreme temperatures and heavy precipitation can cause significant damage to roadways and jeopardize the structural integrity of rail systems. Additionally, sea-level rise is accelerating coastal erosion that can undermine roads and rail lines. The deterioration of pavement leads to traffic delays and damaged vehicles. And, most critically, it can cause traffic accidents.

Hot rails can expand and also buckle

Rail expansion is another significant concern, especially with continuous welded rails like the main lines that trains use.

When temperatures rise, rails expand due to the heat. This expansion can create high pressure and tension within the rail material. Combined with the forces exerted by moving trains, this pressure can cause the tracks to buckle to the side and become misaligned. It is sometimes referred to as a “sun kink.”

Buckling rails are a serious safety hazard that can cause derailments. That’s one of the reasons Amtrak slows its speed in extreme heat, often leading to schedule delays. Washington, D.C.’s Metro cuts its trains speed to a maximum of 35 mph once rails reach a temperature of 135 degrees Fahrenheit (57 degrees Celsius).

Predicting these thermal stresses can be challenging. Rail temperature measurements alone are not enough, because there are many unknown factors related to the track’s structure and how it moves. This makes it difficult to accurately forecast how much the rails will expand or contract.

Engineers can reduce rail expansion risk by using heat-resistant materials, such as hypereutectoid rail steel and martensite rail steel, adjusting track design and ensuring timely repairs.

To prevent roadways from buckling, engineers also have protective measures, such as using single-cut sawed joints filled with sealant to provide flexibility while keeping water out. They can also implement cold weather concreting practices that avoid pouring concrete during low temperatures or on cold bases, and they can use stronger and more durable concrete. Performing timely repairs when pavement cracks and becomes damaged can also help avoid buckling.

Keeping infrastructure healthy

Infrastructure health is similar to human health: If doctors detect problems such as tumors or cancer only in the later stages, it is often too late. Like human bodies, infrastructure needs to be maintained from the beginning to reduce costs and increase the potential for effective rehabilitation.

One area my department works on is nondestructive evaluation methods for monitoring infrastructure without causing damage or requiring long road closures.

We use mobile scanning systems that are almost like portable MRI machines to look for weakness or defects in bridges, roads and runways. We are also developing advanced sensors that use mechanical and magnetic field phenomena to assess the condition of infrastructure, and we are using artificial intelligence to spot problems in the materials.

Infrastructure will face increasing challenges as the climate changes and roads, bridges and other infrastructure age. The large number of buckling roadways and other problems this summer highlight the urgent need for resilient infrastructure to stand up to the future.

Suyun Paul Ham does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Stuck bridges, buckling roads − extreme heat is wreaking havoc on America’s aging infrastructure

Summer 2024’s record heat is creating problems for transportation infrastructure, from roads to rails.

New York’s Third Avenue Bridge, which swings open for ship traffic on the Harlem River, was stuck for hours after its metal expanded in the heat and it couldn’t close. Roads have buckled on hot days in several states, including Washington and Wisconsin. Amtrak warned passengers to prepare for heat-related problems hours before a daylong outage between New York and New Jersey; the risks to power lines and rails during high temperatures are a growing source of delays for the train system.

It doesn’t help that the worsening heat is hitting a U.S. infrastructure system that’s already in trouble.

The American Society of Civil Engineers gave U.S. infrastructure an overall grade of C- in its latest national Infrastructure Report Card, released in 2021. While there has been some improvement – about 7.5% of U.S. bridges were in poor condition, compared with over 12% a decade earlier – many bridges are aging, making them difficult to maintain. Forty percent of the road system was considered in poor or mediocre condition, and maintenance costs have substantially increased.

The rate at which a bridge or road deteriorates depends not only on the materials and construction methods used but also on the climate during the structure’s life span. Extreme heat, in particular, significantly affects transportation infrastructure. As climate change progresses, the frequency and intensity of heat waves are expected to increase, exacerbating these issues.

I lead the Smart Infrastructure and Testing Laboratory at the University of Texas at Arlington, where my team works on ways to better monitor the structural health of infrastructure. Here’s why infrastructure struggles in the heat – and how engineers are innovating to help extend its life.

Buckling highways pose a hazard for drivers

When a road is built, it is cut into segments to create space for the pavement to expand during high heat or to contract in the cold. Without that space, the pavement can buckle when the road material heats up. Buckling of concrete pavement has become a serious problem in several states.

Pavement becomes vulnerable to buckling for a number of reasons. The roadway’s design, the materials it is made out of, the climate when it was built and the weather during its lifetime can affect its life span, as can damage to the road and improper repairs.

Extreme temperatures and heavy precipitation can cause significant damage to roadways and jeopardize the structural integrity of rail systems. Additionally, sea-level rise is accelerating coastal erosion that can undermine roads and rail lines. The deterioration of pavement leads to traffic delays and damaged vehicles. And, most critically, it can cause traffic accidents.

Hot rails can expand and also buckle

Rail expansion is another significant concern, especially with continuous welded rails like the main lines that trains use.

When temperatures rise, rails expand due to the heat. This expansion can create high pressure and tension within the rail material. Combined with the forces exerted by moving trains, this pressure can cause the tracks to buckle to the side and become misaligned. It is sometimes referred to as a “sun kink.”

Buckling rails are a serious safety hazard that can cause derailments. That’s one of the reasons Amtrak slows its speed in extreme heat, often leading to schedule delays. Washington, D.C.’s Metro cuts its trains speed to a maximum of 35 mph once rails reach a temperature of 135 degrees Fahrenheit (57 degrees Celsius).

Predicting these thermal stresses can be challenging. Rail temperature measurements alone are not enough, because there are many unknown factors related to the track’s structure and how it moves. This makes it difficult to accurately forecast how much the rails will expand or contract.

Engineers can reduce rail expansion risk by using heat-resistant materials, such as hypereutectoid rail steel and martensite rail steel, adjusting track design and ensuring timely repairs.

To prevent roadways from buckling, engineers also have protective measures, such as using single-cut sawed joints filled with sealant to provide flexibility while keeping water out. They can also implement cold weather concreting practices that avoid pouring concrete during low temperatures or on cold bases, and they can use stronger and more durable concrete. Performing timely repairs when pavement cracks and becomes damaged can also help avoid buckling.

Keeping infrastructure healthy

Infrastructure health is similar to human health: If doctors detect problems such as tumors or cancer only in the later stages, it is often too late. Like human bodies, infrastructure needs to be maintained from the beginning to reduce costs and increase the potential for effective rehabilitation.

One area my department works on is nondestructive evaluation methods for monitoring infrastructure without causing damage or requiring long road closures.

We use mobile scanning systems that are almost like portable MRI machines to look for weakness or defects in bridges, roads and runways. We are also developing advanced sensors that use mechanical and magnetic field phenomena to assess the condition of infrastructure, and we are using artificial intelligence to spot problems in the materials.

Infrastructure will face increasing challenges as the climate changes and roads, bridges and other infrastructure age. The large number of buckling roadways and other problems this summer highlight the urgent need for resilient infrastructure to stand up to the future.

Suyun Paul Ham does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.