Ex-Google chief sets out US-China rivalry in Al age

Washington needs to step up game to win contest Beijing is training hard for, he says

- Bhagyashree Garekar

The man who spearheaded Google's dramatic journey from a Silicon Valley start-up to a global tech giant that is a household name is now on a mission to configure United States-China rivalry in the age of AI.

Mr Eric Schmidt, chief executive of Google (2001-11) and executive chairman of the firm and its successor Alphabet (2011-17), is emphatic about wanting the US to clinch the high-stakes competition that he says Beijing is already training hard for.

It is time for Washington to get its game face on, says the tech titan whose influence has weight with the Biden White House.

The 67-year-old billionaire runs Schmidt Futures, a New Yorkbased philanthropic organisation that he co-founded with his wife in 2017 with the ambitious idea of building "a network of the sharpest minds on earth to solve hard problems in science and society".

Mr Schmidt was in Singapore last week for his foundation's Asia-focused initiative that included the S. Rajaratnam Endowment Dialogue, jointly presented by his foundation, Temasek Foundation, the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and The Straits Times.

AI, or artificial intelligence, uses computers and algorithms to mimic mankind's capabilities to make decisions and solve problems. It implies decision-making at a scale and speed that can go beyond human abilities to execute or oversee.

It is already beginning to transform societies across the board, including how they educate children, interact on social media or fight wars. The latter is a matter of particular concern to Mr Schmidt.