The war between the U.S. and China happens not only because of their differences, as it also spans from politics to economy, as well as the race for supremacy in software development.
And this time, a senior cybersecurity official at the Pentagon said that he quit his job because he thinks that it is impossible for the U.S. to compete with China in the fields of AI.
Nicolas Chaillan joined the U.S. Air Force as its first Chief Software Officer in August 2018. The then worked towards his career, and went to Pentagon to work with some of the world's most advances software. But Chaillan quits on September 2. citing his reason is because the Pentagon is reluctance in making cybersecurity and AI a priority.
Speaking to the Financial Times in his first interview since leaving, Chaillan said that China is already far ahead of the U.S..
Because of this, China is on a clear path towards global dominance because no other countries can compete with its technological advances.
If compared to China, the AI capabilities and cyber defenses of some U.S. government departments were at "kindergarten level."
Among the reasons, this is why a number of U.S. departments have been subjected to hacking attempts and ransomware attacks in recent years.
Another reason, is because Google's refusal to work with the Pentagon on AI.
Google stopped working with the Pentagon in 2018 after 12 of its employees quit over a project where Google helped the Pentagon make software that could improve the accuracy of autonomous drone attacks.
This is a contrast to China, Chaillan said, where private cyber and AI companies are all working towards Beijing's wishes.
"We have no competing fighting chance against China in fifteen to twenty years. Right now, it's already a done deal; it is already over in my opinion," he said.
Even if the U.S. tries to catch up by spending three times as much as China on defenses, things won't matter because it is allocated to the wrong areas, he said.
"I am just tired of continuously chasing support and money to do my job. My office still has no billet and no funding, this year and the next," he said.
Read: Google Project Maven In Helping Pentagon Create AI For Drones
It has been an honor serving as the first Chief Software Officer in the U.S. Government and particularly in the Department of the Air Force.
It has been the most incredible journey for me – I have had the chance to meet and work with some of the most incredible people in all my 22+ year career.
This job certainly was not easy, probably the most challenging and infuriating of my entire career. Yet, I recognize this work as being the most impactful for our children’s future and the most rewarding for me.
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I realize more clearly than ever before that, in 20 years from now, our children, both in the United States’ and our Allies’, will have no chance competing in a world where China has the drastic advantage of population over the US. If the US can’t match the booming, hardworking population in China, then we have to win by being smarter, more efficient, and forward-leaning through agility, rapid prototyping and innovation. We have to be ahead and lead. We can’t afford to be behind.
As the world’s second largest economy, China is likely to dominate many of the key emerging technologies.
And this time, China is aiming to become the leader in AI superpower by the year 2030.
China is also set to dominate the future of the world, controlling everything from media narratives to geopolitics, he said.