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China looks to overtake US lead in AI research
A new study from a team of economists at the University of Toronto has concluded that China is steadily gaining on the United States in the field of artificial intelligence.
The 2017 Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), a worldwide conference that presents the achievements of the world’s AI leaders, indicated that 23 percent of the authors of academic papers were based from China, according to the AI and International Trade study. This was a massive leap in terms of research output, considering that Chinese AI researchers only contributed 10 percent of the research output in the 2012 AAAI.
The United States, on the other hand, seems to be experiencing a steady decline in its artificial intelligence initiatives. While 34 percent of the academic papers presented in the 2017 AAAI were still American, the number shows a significant decrease from the output of the country’s researchers back in 2012, when studies from the United States represented 41 percent of the academic papers in the conference.
The University of Toronto researchers ranked the world’s most AI-active countries based on time-series data on the institutional affiliation of all authors of papers presented at the AAAI Conference. From this data, the economists concluded that China is catching up rapidly to the United States, with the former exhibiting a 13% growth in research output and the latter showing a 6% decline in academic papers from 2012-2017. The other countries in the Top 5 of the study’s rankings — the UK, Singapore, and Japan — were fairly consistent with their research output during the same period.
In a statement to the New York Times, Elsa Kania, an adjunct fellow at the Center for a New American Security, stated that the United States’s own AI initiatives during the Obama administration might have ironically triggered the artificial intelligence boom in the Asian economic superpower.
“It is remarkable to see how AI has emerged as a top priority for the Chinese leadership and how quickly things have been set into motion. The US plans and policies released in 2016 were seemingly the impetus for the formulation of China’s national AI strategy,” she said.
Not long after the release of the previous administration’s AI reports, China unveiled a plan to become a world leader in artificial intelligence by 2025. By 2030, China aims to have an AI industry worth $150 billion to its economy — one that can stoke national pride and spark breakthroughs in the field.
AI will foster an era of ‘superhuman’ workers, says Google X founder [Photo credit: iStockPhoto]
Seemingly in contrast to China, the United States appears to have tempered down its efforts to maintain its lead in the artificial intelligence field. In a statement to the New York Times, Jack Clark of Elon Musk-backed OpenAI stated that the United States currently lacks a central national strategy in AI. Unfortunately for the US, a focused national stance on intelligent technologies is something that China has in abundance.
“We may have a bunch of small initiatives inside the government that are doing good, but we don’t have a central national strategy. It is confusing that we have this technology of such obvious power and merit and we are not hearing full-throated support, including financial support,” Clark said, according to an NYT report.
As we noted in a previous report, China recently announced a massive AI-driven initiative in the form of a massive 54.87-hectare, 13.8 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) technopark in Beijing that would house companies directly involved in the development of AI technologies and machine learning. The technopark is part of China’s attempts at attaining global AI superiority by 2025.
Overall, despite warnings from Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and prominent physicists such as Stephen Hawking, countries such as China are going full throttle towards a future that is rife with evolving, intelligent AI.
Tesla has made two big interior changes to several Model Y vehicles in its lineup, and the changes come just as the new model year begins production.
Last year, Tesla launched the Model Y Standard, which separated the previous models into the “Premium” category. The Standard vehicles lack several features, including more premium interior materials, acoustic-lined glass, and storage.
@teslarati There are some BIG differences between the Tesla Model Y Standard and Tesla Model Y Premium #tesla #teslamodely ♬ Sia – Xeptemper
The Model Y “Premium” trims are now getting several new upgrades, which come after the company launched a seven-seat configuration of the vehicle last night in the North American market for an upcharge of $2,500.
The new Model Y seven-seat configuration did not come with just an additional row of seating; it also came with a slew of other goodies that now come standard and were previously only available on the Model Y Performance, which was launched late last year.
All Black Headliner
The new Tesla Model Y Premium trims will now come standard with a black headliner, something that many owners have been requesting for some time.
The previous grey headliner and trim within the vehicle is now gone; it will be all black on all of the Premium trims from here on out, a welcome change:
Credit: Tesla
Larger and Higher Resolution Center Touchscreen
The center touchscreen in the new Model Y Premium configuration is now larger and has a higher resolution than the previous version.
In last year’s Model Y configurations (apart from the Performance), the center touchscreen was 15.4″. Now, Tesla has decided to go with the 16″ version across all Premium trims, which is a nice step up. It was nice to see this in the Performance, but it is really great to see Tesla include this in the Model Y’s more Premium trim levels.
Tesla Model Y Seven Seater
Tesla launched the latest iteration of the seven-seater for the Model Y on Monday night. Traditionally, the Model Y seats five passengers in total, but there were calls for a more spacious version several years ago.
Tesla released it, but it was extremely tight in the back, basically reserving those back seats for only small people or children.
Credit: Tesla
The new configuration looks to be slightly more spacious in the third row, but not as much space as most would require or want. Instead,
Elon Musk
Lufthansa Group to equip Starlink on its 850-aircraft fleet
Under the collaboration, Lufthansa Group will install Starlink technology on both its existing fleet and all newly delivered aircraft, as noted by the group in a press release.
Lufthansa Group has announced a partnership with Starlink that will bring high-speed internet connectivity to every aircraft across all its carriers.
This means that aircraft across the group’s brands, from Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian Airlines to Brussels Airlines, would be able to enjoy high-speed internet access using the industry-leading satellite internet solution.
Starlink in-flight internet
Under the collaboration, Lufthansa Group will install Starlink technology on both its existing fleet and all newly delivered aircraft, as noted by the group in a press release.
Starlink’s low-Earth orbit satellites are expected to provide significantly higher bandwidth and lower latency than traditional in-flight Wi-Fi, which should enable streaming, online work, and other data-intensive applications for passengers during flights.
Starlink-powered internet is expected to be available on the first commercial flights as early as the second half of 2026. The rollout will continue through the decade, with the entire Lufthansa Group fleet scheduled to be fully equipped with Starlink by 2029. Once complete, no other European airline group will operate more Starlink-connected aircraft.
Free high-speed access
As part of the initiative, Lufthansa Group will offer the new high-speed internet free of charge to all status customers and Travel ID users, regardless of cabin class. Chief Commercial Officer Dieter Vranckx shared his expectations for the program.
“In our anniversary year, in which we are celebrating Lufthansa’s 100th birthday, we have decided to introduce a new high-speed internet solution from Starlink for all our airlines. The Lufthansa Group is taking the next step and setting an essential milestone for the premium travel experience of our customers.
“Connectivity on board plays an important role today, and with Starlink, we are not only investing in the best product on the market, but also in the satisfaction of our passengers,” Vranckx said.
Elon Musk
Tesla locks in Elon Musk’s top problem solver as it enters its most ambitious era
The generous equity award was disclosed by the electric vehicle maker in a recent regulatory filing.
Tesla has granted Senior Vice President of Automotive Tom Zhu more than 520,000 stock options, tying a significant portion of his compensation to the company’s long-term performance.
The generous equity award was disclosed by the electric vehicle maker in a recent regulatory filing.
Tesla secures top talent
According to a Form 4 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Tom Zhu received 520,021 stock options with an exercise price of $435.80 per share. Since the award will not fully vest until March 5, 2031, Zhu must remain at Tesla for more than five years to realize the award’s full benefit.
Considering that Tesla shares are currently trading at around the $445 to $450 per share level, Zhu will really only see gains in his equity award if Tesla’s stock price sees a notable rise over the years, as noted in a Sina Finance report.
Still, even at today’s prices, Zhu’s stock award is already worth over $230 million. If Tesla reaches the market cap targets set forth in Elon Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award, Zhu would become a billionaire from this equity award alone.
Tesla’s problem solver
Zhu joined Tesla in April 2014 and initially led the company’s Supercharger rollout in China. Later that year, he assumed the leadership of Tesla’s China business, where he played a central role in Tesla’s localization efforts, including expanding retail and service networks, and later, overseeing the development of Gigafactory Shanghai.
Zhu’s efforts helped transform China into one of Tesla’s most important markets and production hubs. In 2023, Tesla promoted Zhu to Senior Vice President of Automotive, placing him among the company’s core global executives and expanding his influence beyond China. He has since garnered a reputation as the company’s problem solver, being tapped by Elon Musk to help ramp Giga Texas’s vehicle production.
With this in mind, Tesla’s recent filing seems to suggest that the company is locking in its top talent as it enters its newest, most ambitious era to date. As could be seen in the targets of Elon Musk’s 2025 pay package, Tesla is now aiming to be the world’s largest company by market cap, and it is aiming to achieve production levels that are unheard of. Zhu’s talents would definitely be of use in this stage of the company’s growth.
Tesla makes two big interior changes to several Model Y vehicles
Lufthansa Group to equip Starlink on its 850-aircraft fleet
