The US, China and the AI arms race: Cutting through the hype

A country's AI prowess has major implications for how its citizens live and work -- and its economic and military strength moving into the future. With so much at stake, the narrative of an AI "arms race" between the US and China has been brewing for years. Dramatic headlines suggest that China is poised to take the lead in AI research and use, due to its national plan for AI domination and the billions of dollars the government has invested in the field, compared with the US' focus on private-sector development. But the reality is that at least until the past year or so, the two nations have been largely interdependent when it comes to this technology. It's an area that has drawn attention and investment from major tech heavy hitters on both sides of the Pacific, including Apple, Google and Facebook in the US and SenseTime, Megvii and YITU Technology in China. Generation China is a CNET series that looks at the areas of technology where the country is looking to take a leadership position.