Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 349 If we can do it in China, we can do it too!

The sudden emergence of the deep red stock was not only a major commercial victory, but also a remarkable achievement, as Tencent's stock price rose by 100% in just five days. Although it is still far from its peak, this is no small feat.

It's important to understand that Tencent has a huge market capitalization, and with its major shareholder Naspers continuously reducing its holdings, the fact that it can still achieve such a surge demonstrates the power of a dark red stock.

This is also a major victory for China's science and technology. For the world, it is another example of "If America can do it, so can China; if America can do it, why can't we?"
In Europe, in particular, a rare wave of reflection has emerged in old Europe.

Marcin Lewandowski is a German blogger, primarily a podcaster and also on YouTube, who has consistently focused on the field of artificial intelligence and is considered one of Europe's top bloggers in this area.

On March 25th, he shared his latest podcast episode on various social media platforms: "Marcin Lewandowski: Why Europe Has No Future for AI - A Conversation with Clara Chapaz, Technical Director of France".

The following is the specific program content:
"Welcome to the latest episode of EU-Startups. I'm your old friend Marcin. Today we've invited a heavyweight guest to have an in-depth discussion with us about GPT, LLM, the development of the artificial intelligence industry, China's latest DeepRed, and the future of artificial intelligence in Europe."

She is Clara Chapaz, France's Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology.

They conducted the interviews remotely, and the video presentation alone would seem a bit rudimentary, as everyone was at home and connected remotely via Zoom.

But since Marchin's main focus is podcasts, and podcast audiences are mostly listeners rather than viewers, videos are not that important.

"Hello everyone, I'm Clara. My job is mainly to ensure France's leading position in the field of artificial intelligence and to guide companies to invest in artificial intelligence and digital technologies in France."

Ministerial-level representative, this position is actually quite high.

But Marcin doesn't believe that the other party truly understands artificial intelligence or can lead France to become a leader in the field.

So he took the initiative and asked, "Clara, do you think France is now a leader in the field of artificial intelligence?"
But we haven't seen any outstanding achievements from France. America has the GPT, China has the Crimson, but France doesn't seem to have much in this area.

Before Marchin could finish speaking, Clara interrupted, "Of course, we are the leading country, and China and America are also leading countries."

There is not just one leading country.

France has a long history in the field of artificial intelligence, a wealth of technological reserves, and a number of startups.

The French government is also sponsoring several artificial intelligence projects, such as Lucie and Mistral AI. We believe France will soon produce results that will astound the world as Crimson.

Indeed, Lucie did shock the world to some extent.

Clara's logic is that it's not only the top two who are in the lead; as long as you're above the median, you can call yourself a leader.

Of the 197 sovereign states in the world, France should rank in the top five. How can it not be considered leading?

Marcin then asked, "Will it really shock the world?"

Clara replied firmly, "Of course! The French government has given unprecedented support to artificial intelligence. We have the best talent in the field of artificial intelligence, and France has always had an absolute advantage in the field of mathematics."

As we all know, the essence of artificial intelligence is mathematics, and France is a center of mathematics. We can quickly translate our mathematical advantages into advantages in artificial intelligence.

This greatly displeased Marchin, a German. If Göttingen hadn't declined, how could Paris have become the center of mathematics?

“That’s right, Clara. Unlike China, France is not limited by computing power, so why is China’s progress in artificial intelligence faster than ours?”

I bought a Crimson account from a Chinese seller on eBay and tried it out myself. First of all, it was free, and secondly, its performance was even better than the paid GPT-4.

I am amazed at how the Chinese managed to achieve such good results using restricted NVIDIA computing cards.

But we can't.

Marcin's question viewed Germany and France as a whole, all within the larger framework of the European Union.

Many tech enthusiasts overseas want to experience Crimson, and social media bloggers have obtained accounts from their Chinese counterparts through their networks. After spreading the information widely, ordinary people buy them on Amazon and eBay.

China only restricts registration to Chinese mobile phone numbers; it does not restrict IP addresses or prohibit overseas IP addresses from logging in.

As a result, many Chinese people have made a fortune by selling Crimson accounts, with each account fetching between $50 and $100.

Clara explained: "The most important reason is that the EU has many regulations and compliance requirements for artificial intelligence. We need to avoid the risks that artificial intelligence may bring. We need to develop harmless AI and avoid the ethical issues that AI brings."

Clearly, China's artificial intelligence doesn't need to consider so many things.

Moreover, China has a large number of engineers who have returned from Silicon Valley, and they may have learned about the engineering implementation logic of GPT-3 and the subsequent GPT-4 through some channels, while we have to rely entirely on ourselves.

This French bureaucrat's logic boils down to two things: we have higher and stricter requirements, and China can copy American technology.

Marcin was speechless. He really couldn't understand why this woman was able to become a ministerial-level official in charge of artificial intelligence and digital technology.

This answer is completely unsatisfactory.

"You mean China copied America's technology? And yet, they actually made it better than they thought?" Marchin asked.

“I only said there’s a possibility, not that it’s definitely going to happen,” Clara added. “For example, in terms of the moon landing, they used the technology from America’s Apollo moon landing, but they did it better. They even landed on the south pole of the moon, something that Apollo couldn’t do.”

It's not impossible to replicate the same miracle in the field of artificial intelligence.

Marchin immediately countered, "Logically it's possible, but China only took two months, two months after the release of GPT-3, to launch Crimson, and before the release of GPT-3, OpenAI was just an insignificant little company."

I think there is almost no possibility of plagiarism.

We shouldn't dwell on how China did it; we should discuss how Europe can catch up.

You just mentioned that we have advantages in talent and technology reserves, but are we paying too much attention to laws and regulations?
I have a very strong feeling that we have the European Data Protection Authority, the EU AI Act, a compliance and risk management governance platform, an EU AI regulation expert team, and the European Policy Research Centre.

These institutions can intervene in AI research and development, and they are all discussing how to ensure that AI is free from risks and ethical issues.

But we don't have artificial intelligence yet! We don't have artificial intelligence, yet we've spent a lot of human and material resources on AI-based regulation?
I've observed that, even within the field of artificial intelligence, Silicon Valley podcasts are all discussing the latest exciting technologies, the teams behind them, and how these technologies can change our work and lives.

Meanwhile, podcasts in the European AI field are discussing European data privacy, AI regulations, and the privacy challenges of AI in Europe.

Clara, you are a ministerial representative of France, what is your view on this issue?

Marcin found it ridiculous that Europe had no artificial intelligence whatsoever, yet it was constantly discussing how to govern it.

“Because the risks of AI are far greater than we imagine, we need to strike a balance between risk and efficiency,” Clara said.

Clara had already sensed the hostile attitude, but she could understand it perfectly. Podcasts with conflict and confrontation are what attract viewers, and she had already prepared for that since she had chosen to participate.

"Shouldn't we address problems only after they arise?"

Instead of discussing potential problems and how to solve them before the problems even arise—problems A, B, C, and so on—we end up discussing a whole host of issues.

If none of them show up, we'll have to discuss it again and come up with a solution.

Isn't this just a waste of time?
"In other words, if we had an AI today that rivals Deep Red and GPT-3, but it doesn't comply with EU laws and regulations on AI, would we ban it from providing services to the public?" Marcin asked.

Clara knew how to answer Marcin's questions and why the EU was doing what it was doing.

To put it bluntly, it's a matter of path dependence. Europe doesn't have any tech giants; all the money is going to Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft. The digital taxes they pay to Europe are negligible, so Europe can only collect taxes through fines.

Nominally, it's a huge fine for violating laws and regulations, but in reality, it's just another form of tax.

Similarly, the reason why Europe is researching so many AI regulations is the same: to fine you Silicon Valley AI giants. I don't own this company myself; I rely on fines to generate tax revenue.

So it's not that we started researching before the problem even appeared. It's precisely because GPT already exists and has a large number of users in Europe that we are researching how to impose fines, finding a balance that is acceptable to both parties.

For politicians, this is something they can do, but they can't talk about.

Outsiders might think that Europe has a bunch of incompetent politicians, but actually, they're just relying on a certain path—studying fines is such a direct approach.

Cultivating homegrown tech giants? Can old Europe even do it? They failed in the PC and mobile internet eras, how could they succeed in the artificial intelligence era? Clara herself doesn't believe it.

However, there needs to be a plausible reason: "We need to guide the future development of artificial intelligence in the world and reveal the potential risks of artificial intelligence."

What is a politician? This is a politician. That's a beautifully said statement.

"As for your second question, we can grant these European companies additional exemptions." The interview ended abruptly, and once the topic of exemptions came up, Marchin lost interest in continuing the discussion.

If exemptions are possible, then why establish so many institutions and use so much government tax revenue to support so many so-called AI regulatory experts?
After Clara left Zoom, Marchin went all out:
"See this? This is our official in charge of artificial intelligence and digital technology. Let me add a couple of points: she does have a computer technology background, but Clara Chapatz has previously served as Chief Technology Officer at LV and VC, the latter being an online platform for selling second-hand luxury goods. Neither of these has anything to do with artificial intelligence technology."

Her understanding of artificial intelligence is even less than that of an undergraduate computer science major.

I'm not saying she's unqualified. What I'm saying is that across Europe, every single one of these bureaucrats is unqualified in the field of artificial intelligence. We don't know how useful it is to poach talent from Silicon Valley. China has already proven in the PC and mobile internet era just how valuable talent returning from Silicon Valley is.

Why don't we do it? There are plenty of Europeans in Silicon Valley. Why don't we find scientists in the field of artificial intelligence, invest in them, and encourage them to return to their home countries to start businesses?

This is what government departments should be doing, not studying damn regulations and damn risks.

Marcin was going all out, determined to never be able to interview government officials again.

“We have wasted far too much time. Let bygones be bygones. But now, artificial intelligence is showing unprecedented potential, and all the giants are investing in LLM. Europe is once again clearly lagging behind.”

Indeed, as she said, it's not about being first or second to be considered a leader. The problem is that, in today's big data-driven LLM, it's clearly a winner-takes-all game.

With OpenAI leading the way and Google, Meta, and OpenAI seizing market share, where will European companies go to find markets? China? Or Africa?
There may be some French mathematicians who are better than Professor Lin and have achieved more outstanding results, but they are old. Can they really switch their focus to the field of artificial intelligence and still make outstanding achievements?
As for the young scholars, can they compete with Professor Lin?
I'm sorry, but I'm very pessimistic about the future of AI in Europe right now. It's not just because we're lagging behind, but also because we have bureaucrats deciding the future of our AI field, which makes me even more pessimistic.

Here, I need to draw a conclusion upfront: although the LLM era has only been underway for six months, I already see no future for AI in Europe. Thank you for watching.

Americans and Europeans both belong to the Western camp, but their mentality towards the Crimson is completely different.

American people are excited; finally, a competitor has emerged. Nasdaq stocks are falling, the secondary market is pessimistic, but the primary market is very active.

The emergence of Crimson signifies that in this field, in the field of artificial intelligence, nothing has been settled yet, and everyone has a chance.

If China can produce a Crimson Red, why can't Silicon Valley produce the next one?

Venture capital firms in Silicon Valley have started to frequently visit AI startups in Silicon Valley. They prefer companies that are entirely made up of Chinese Americans, followed by those that are mostly made up of Chinese Americans, and they won't even give an AI company a second glance if it doesn't have any Chinese Americans at all.

Nilanjan was poached by META. During his many years at Stony Brook University, every single PhD student he mentored received offers from major companies like Google, META, and Microsoft, with annual salaries of several million dollars.

Either start your own business, or if your AI startup has students of Professor Nilanjan, investment institutions will naturally look at you more favorably, making it 90% easier to attract investment.

Those students who thought that Nilanjan's disappearance and their new mentorship would be a life-changing opportunity have received a huge employment bonus. Those who haven't even graduated yet have already been booked by tech giants, while those who have graduated are reaping a huge wave of benefits.

Of course, these people weren't the only ones who benefited; the students in Lin Ran's math class also did.

They were admitted to Lin Ran's Mathematics Class in the second half of 2020. There were 20 students in total. They are now in their third year and will soon be facing their graduation plans.

There are 20 people, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University provides 20 spots for postgraduate recommendation. Simply put, as long as you don't fail any courses and pass the CET-6, you can be recommended for postgraduate studies. As for where you can be recommended, it depends on your own abilities.

Because of such excellent treatment, coupled with Lin Ran's reputation, Lin Ran's math class has become the ace of the entire Jiaotong University.

In the past two years, many students who could have gotten into Tsinghua or Peking University chose to attend Shanghai Jiao Tong University in order to get into Lin Ran's math class.

This is based on the premise that Lin Ran's math class can only be entered through an entrance exam after enrollment.

If students could be guaranteed admission to Lin Ran's math class through the college entrance examination, many top scorers would be willing to come to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, because they expressed similar intentions during their application consultations: "If I can be guaranteed admission to Lin Ran's math class, I will come."

On Thursday, March 31, in a conference room at Apollo Technology, students from three different grades of Lin Ran's math class met with Lin Ran.

"Dear students, I am truly sorry, I have too many things to do and cannot guarantee to teach you every week. This should be the first time I teach you this semester."

Before class begins, let's chat for a bit. I know that many of you are interested in artificial intelligence, but not everyone wants to do theoretical mathematical research or see the Lin Ran Mathematics Class as a stepping stone. In the future, you will still need to find a job.

Teacher Li from the school also told me that some people have asked him if they can do an internship at Shenhong.

Crimson has already been released, so I thought there's no better time than today. I've invited everyone here to give a lesson and answer your questions.

If you want to intern at Shenhong, that's no problem at all. All 60 of you here can come.

Initially, I wanted to set a slightly higher threshold, like the top 50% of students in their major courses, only half of them.

Looking back, we originally hoped to be interest-driven. This is a pure math class. Just because you score high in theoretical math doesn't mean you have the same knowledge in the field of artificial intelligence. After all, not everyone is like me, a tireless learning machine.

So I thought about it and decided against it. As long as everyone wants to, they can come to Crimson for an internship after applying.

There will be no ability threshold; everyone has already overcome that threshold when they entered Lin Ran's math class. The main threshold here is safety.

It includes technical security and my personal safety. The threshold is very low, and I believe everyone is fine with it.

So we welcome everyone to intern at Crimson this summer. You'll have the opportunity to see firsthand how the latest, most cutting-edge, and top-tier artificial intelligence companies work and operate.

After Lin Ran finished speaking, the students in the audience erupted in applause, which almost lifted the ceiling off.

Everyone knows what this means.

To put it simply, this resume is equivalent to a direct PhD admission letter from any university in the world, or an offer from any company in the world.

This is the best of the best benefits.

"Okay, everyone calm down." Lin Ran smiled, happy to give young people a chance.

Especially the young people present are all his closest and most trusted followers.

"Another thing is that I plan to recruit three PhDs: one in artificial intelligence, one in pure mathematics, and one in applied mathematics in the field of aerospace."

This is addressed to third-year students, since you will be facing the question of where you will go next year.

I believe my PhD will have access to the world's top resources, so it will definitely be a selection of the best of the best. I will not necessarily choose from among you all here; you will have to compete with undergraduates and master's students from all over the world.

"If you're interested, you can start preparing in advance," Lin Ran said.

He has been a doctoral supervisor for a long time, but he has never taken on any doctoral students.

Being a doctoral supervisor is a qualification, but it does not mean that one must recruit students.

In the past, there have been many questions on the Simplified Chinese Internet about whether Lin Ran recruits doctoral students. Countless students hope to apply to Lin Ran's doctoral program, from their own university to other universities, from undergraduate to master's students.

Some PhD students have even graduated and completed their doctoral studies, yet they still want to come back to Lin Ran to pursue another PhD.

A freshman in Lin Ran's math class raised her hand, and Lin Ran pointed at her.

After she stood up, she asked, "Professor Lin, hello. I am Li Siqin, a freshman in the Lin Ran Mathematics Class. I would like to ask if you have been recruiting three doctoral students all year round, or is it just this year's class?"

Lin Ran explained, "There's only this year's cohort. We'll see how things go. We'll probably have to wait until this cohort is trained before we start recruiting again. My energy is limited."

The number of doctoral supervisors is limited each year; you can't recruit an unlimited number of students. But it also depends on the person. For example, the number of doctoral supervisors is not unlimited but almost unlimited, let alone academicians like Lin Ran.

Li Siqin then asked, "Isn't this unfair to us freshmen and sophomores?"

Lin Ran nodded and said calmly, "Of course, nothing is fair."

Everyone needs to get used to it in advance. I treat everyone equally when it comes to providing Crimson Internships; everyone can come, that's fair.

It's unfair that third-year undergraduates get preferential treatment in doctoral admissions because they can apply.

That's just how the world is.

"Professor Lin, if the first matter can be fair, why can't the second one?" Li Siqin was very indignant, her eyes slightly red, feeling that she had lost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The other students present were whispering among themselves.

Some were surprised by her boldness, daring to be so aggressive towards Lin Ran.

Some believe that the other party is advocating for the rights of everyone.

(End of this chapter)