OpenAI cuts off access to users in China, Hong Kong and Macau- China has lessons for India’s tech ecosystem.
OpenAI’s move comes as the U.S. Treasury seeks tighter regulation of American investment flowing into China’s tech sector, proposing an outright ban on investment by U.S. citizens and residents in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductor manufacturing in China.
China has lessons for India’s tech ecosystem – OpenAI’s departure from China has lessons for India’s tech ecosystem.
Galapagos syndrome is a Japanese term for the isolated development of a global product.
India must resist the temptation to become a technological Galapagos and find a middle ground to accommodate foreign players while encouraging local innovators.
On June 25, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, notified developers in China that it would block access to its tools and software in the country from July 2024. Many Chinese start-ups rely on OpenAI’s tools to run their own AI chatbots. OpenAI’s withdrawal means they will no longer be able to rely on its systems to support such products.
This move has lessons for India.
OpenAI’s move did sound an alarm for Chinese large model developers to reflect on the gap between them and their US competitors. Take generative AI, one of the most widely used and the most widely known field of today’s AI development, as an example. Both the US and China are leaders in the generative AI field.
OpenAI’s move comes on the heels of two developments. The Biden administration is looking to ring fence US-based advanced AI systems, including the AI software that supports ChatGPT, from China and Russia.
Additionally, a report issued by OpenAI pointed to the use of its tools to attempt to “manipulate public opinion” and “influence electoral outcomes” by entities based in China and Russia. Some reports tout this move as a loss for OpenAI and a win for Chinese tech giants like Baidu, which has its own version of ChatGPT .
