China Is More Excited About AI Than Any Other Nation In The World
China's social media makes AI exciting and helps make it welcome in the workplace!
There is more to the AI tech war than meets the eye, and China’s consumers are the most “excited” about AI among 21 nations surveyed by BCG.
While this may at first seem like nothing more than fun trivia, it is a critical measure of tech adoption. It shows that the Chinese love new tech, just as they did a decade earlier adopting digital wallets.
Why is this important? Because AI usage is a key front in the AI tech war.
AI Tech War
The AI tech war over AI will be fought on many fronts, and while chip bans and “who’s LLM is smartest” make the press daily, there is another not-so-subtle component to AI: the user.
The reality is that AI is useless unless people use it, and on this front, China has a real advantage over the US.
China scored 47 on “net excitement about AI,” and the US scored -10! The negative score means that more people are concerned about AI than excited.
This doesn’t surprise me. Most people in China already think of AI as normal with its influx into people’s lives through social media.
Social Media: The Gateway to AI
China loves videos, and social media is the gateway for most of China’s AI users. Interestingly, according to the BCG survey, videos are also where most people first heard about AI.
It may have started with a simple and slightly silly face-changing video, !see my video above where I become a martial arts superhero.
The reality is that how welcome AI is at work starts with how well it is liked when used on social media, and on this front, China has no parallel.
This shouldn’t surprise Americans who love China’s TikTok and its AI-driven recommendation engine that determines what videos they see.
Personal and Work Use
The use of social media as a gateway is supported by evidence that of those using AI, 53% use it at work and for personal reasons. This compares to only 24% who use it at work only.
It’s simple: if people like AI, they will be open to using it at home and work, if required.
Technology adoption is not guaranteed. New tech always fights for its place in society, but as we saw with China’s adoption of digital wallets, digital banks, and digital delivery, there is a clear love of digital tech here, and AI is just the next big thing.
People Matter
Realists reading this article will say that chips and advances in LLMs matter. I agree with that, and there is no doubt about it.
But what is consistently being forgotten is that people matter, and in the end, AI will be far less transformational if people don’t want to use it!
That’s why we should consider people and their willingness to use AI as another front of the tech cold war.
China may be behind in chips, but on this front, it is without parallel.
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