The American magazine Newsweek said that China is building a massive platform that works with artificial intelligence, called Supermind, which tracks millions of scientists and researchers around the world, so that it can access advanced technologies for industry and military, according to a person familiar with the project and sources briefed by the magazine.
Newsweek noted that the government-funded platform, which it says uses artificial intelligence systems to help find talent for China, is being set up in a new information center that broke ground last year in the Southern Technology Center in Shenzhen. The city is home to global brands such as Huawei and ZTE, some of which the US government has imposed sanctions on.
Newsweek said the effort was described as a breakthrough by the Shenzhen Special Zone daily and the Emner University Fund, linked to Tsinghua University to which it provides grants, with an investment of $280 million, most of it from the Shenzhen government, according to the source familiar with the project. It represents a step in China's efforts to win the global technology race with the United States.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that his country must become a superpower in the field of science and technology and achieve comprehensive global supremacy by 2049.
The Newsweek source, who declined to reveal his identity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said that the Chinese are creating a general data base in various fields. For example, it can be asked about five specific experts in a field who are among the most talented.
Experts say that winning the race toward world-changing technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductors could determine the future of the global balance of power.