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Exactly. I am not sure what Sam Altman is up to here, but this may be something that Silicon Valley companies and the free world will regret deeply in the futu

Exactly. I am not sure what Sam Altman is up to here, but this may be something that Silicon Valley companies and the free world will regret deeply in the future. He mentions > to ensure that the benefits of that are fairly spread throughout humanity. Yes, but technologies at the hands of a dictatorship is dangerous. This morning, there was just a thread about Chinese surveillance/censorship technologies being sold to other countries. Lord help us if the Chinese government somehow gets its hands on a superior weapons tech, or smarter AI. He also says > Qi will also take over as the Head of YC Research, YC’s non-profit research lab. We've heard several prominent lawsuits in recent months on how Chinese nationals stolen and transfered US techs into Chinese companies (possibly government involvement). Qi Lu literally said "The Chinese government understands what AI can do, and they show a lot of commitment for sustained and long-term investment...AI is part of China’s national five-year plan, and just a few months ago, the Chinese government published a comprehensive white paper to call out a systematic investment in AI." https://venturebeat.com/2018/01/09/baidu-coo-says-chinas-government-will-help-the-country-dominate-ai/ https://venturebeat.com/2018/01/09/baidu-coo-says-chinas-gov.... We're literally handing the Chinese government some of the Western world's greatest knowledge and inventions. This is scary scary thing. I am not sure what YC is thinking, allowing Sam Altman to do this.

shard972 8y ago
> Lord help us if the Chinese government somehow gets its hands on a superior weapons tech, or smarter AI. Why wouldn't they get their hands on that? With companies like HPE existing as now defacto chinese companies I just don't see how anyone can see this as a if rather than a when. > We're literally handing the Chinese government some of the Western world's greatest knowledge and inventions. Isn't this great though? More innovation spread amongst the world. This is what liberalism tells us, that there is no distinction between people living under different nations. If we can make the lives of chinese citizens better like we use AI to make ours better, why should minor issues like government "stealing knowledge" (whatever that is) be some big issue?
- jumelles 8y ago
  > why should minor issues like government "stealing knowledge" (whatever that is) be some big issue? Because that's not at all the only issue; the ruling party actively suppresses dissent, stifles speech, and allows little to no disagreement. Minorities and dissenters are locked away with no trial. Censorship is rampant. There's a lot more to worry about than just IP theft or corporate espionage.
  - shard972 8y ago
    Ok even if i don't like those actions a startup shouldn't worry about those issues. I might have political views but I don't bring them to work. If something is so bad then that's for the governments to sort out, we are just here to do our best to make profitable companies.
    - jumelles 8y ago
      Large companies have vastly more influence on governments than regular people. It's unethical to just turn a blind eye to "those actions." Companies have leverage and should use it. Are you seriously willing to work for anyone, their politics and actions be damned? Have you heard about the concept of the "Good German"?
    - IntelMiner 8y ago
      Companies should, and do, take an active role in the world around them (both positively and negatively)
- varsitywork 8y ago
  > Why wouldn't they get their hands on that? They wouldn't because most of the western democratic countries are now actively preventing China from stealing their technologies. US with the empowered CFIUS, with the latest defense bill. Germany just prevented 2 key companies from being taken over by China. France drafted anti-takeover measures (aimed at China) amid foreign investment boom. EU is actively seeking to put up united front against Chinese investment by end of year. And yet Sam Altman is just going to give China free knowhow/technologies. > make the lives of chinese citizens better Are you not aware of the sesame credit enacted by the Chinese government? Facial recognition in cameras installed everywhere? Millions of muslims in reeducation camps in Xinjiang? Are you proposing we give this government even more power and innovation?? If anything, the Chinese government can take over a private startup quickly, and use the tech against Silicon Valley companies.
nodesocket 8y ago
I suspect Altman is a staunch supporter of globalization (his twitter is pretty lefty). Meanwhile there is a large cross section of Americans who aren't as positive and some downright against globalization (myself one of them).
dang 8y ago
You've been using HN exclusively for political argument about China since you created this account. That's not a legit use of the site, as the guidelines explain: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html. HN is a place for curiosity-driven discussion on a wide range of things, not prosecuting a political or national agenda. Edit: it looks like you've been creating tons of accounts just to argue about China. That's clearly abusive, so we've banned this one. Please don't create accounts to break the site guidelines with.

shard972 8y ago

> Lord help us if the Chinese government somehow gets its hands on a superior weapons tech, or smarter AI. Why wouldn't they get their hands on that? With companies like HPE existing as now defacto chinese companies I just don't see how anyone can see this as a if rather than a when. > We're literally handing the Chinese government some of the Western world's greatest knowledge and inventions. Isn't this great though? More innovation spread amongst the world. This is what liberalism tells us, that there is no distinction between people living under different nations. If we can make the lives of chinese citizens better like we use AI to make ours better, why should minor issues like government "stealing knowledge" (whatever that is) be some big issue?

jumelles 8y ago
> why should minor issues like government "stealing knowledge" (whatever that is) be some big issue? Because that's not at all the only issue; the ruling party actively suppresses dissent, stifles speech, and allows little to no disagreement. Minorities and dissenters are locked away with no trial. Censorship is rampant. There's a lot more to worry about than just IP theft or corporate espionage.
- shard972 8y ago
  Ok even if i don't like those actions a startup shouldn't worry about those issues. I might have political views but I don't bring them to work. If something is so bad then that's for the governments to sort out, we are just here to do our best to make profitable companies.
  - jumelles 8y ago
    Large companies have vastly more influence on governments than regular people. It's unethical to just turn a blind eye to "those actions." Companies have leverage and should use it. Are you seriously willing to work for anyone, their politics and actions be damned? Have you heard about the concept of the "Good German"?
  - IntelMiner 8y ago
    Companies should, and do, take an active role in the world around them (both positively and negatively)
varsitywork 8y ago
> Why wouldn't they get their hands on that? They wouldn't because most of the western democratic countries are now actively preventing China from stealing their technologies. US with the empowered CFIUS, with the latest defense bill. Germany just prevented 2 key companies from being taken over by China. France drafted anti-takeover measures (aimed at China) amid foreign investment boom. EU is actively seeking to put up united front against Chinese investment by end of year. And yet Sam Altman is just going to give China free knowhow/technologies. > make the lives of chinese citizens better Are you not aware of the sesame credit enacted by the Chinese government? Facial recognition in cameras installed everywhere? Millions of muslims in reeducation camps in Xinjiang? Are you proposing we give this government even more power and innovation?? If anything, the Chinese government can take over a private startup quickly, and use the tech against Silicon Valley companies.

nodesocket 8y ago

I suspect Altman is a staunch supporter of globalization (his twitter is pretty lefty). Meanwhile there is a large cross section of Americans who aren't as positive and some downright against globalization (myself one of them).

dang 8y ago

You've been using HN exclusively for political argument about China since you created this account. That's not a legit use of the site, as the guidelines explain: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html. HN is a place for curiosity-driven discussion on a wide range of things, not prosecuting a political or national agenda. Edit: it looks like you've been creating tons of accounts just to argue about China. That's clearly abusive, so we've banned this one. Please don't create accounts to break the site guidelines with.