- Song-Chun Zhu left the US for China in 2020 due to professional and geopolitical reasons
- US-China tensions and scrutiny hindered his collaboration and funding opportunities in the US
- China's heavy AI investment and relaxed data laws offered Zhu vast resources and freedom
Song-Chun Zhu, one of the world's most brilliant AI scientists, left the US for China in 2020 after spending half his life in America. In a thought-provoking piece, The Guardian shed light on his decision, reflecting a growing trend of top scientists and mathematicians returning to China due to the country's growing scientific prowess. Mr Zhu, once a prominent figure in the US AI research community, made the bold decision to leave his prestigious position at UCLA and return to China, driven by a mix of personal conviction, professional ambition, and geopolitical realities.
Notably, Mr Zhu's career in the US was marked by significant achievements. As a professor at UCLA, he spearheaded groundbreaking research in computer vision and machine learning. His work focused on enabling machines to understand visual data with human-like intuition, a field critical to applications like autonomous vehicles and facial recognition. However, despite his success, Mr Zhu faced challenges that ultimately led to his departure.
1. US-China tensions
The article highlighted how US-China tensions, particularly during the Trump administration's crackdown on Chinese academics, created an atmosphere of suspicion. Mr Zhu, like many Chinese-American scientists, felt the pressure of scrutiny, which strained his ability to collaborate freely and access funding. "Over the last 30 years, I've been focused on one thing. It's the unified theory of AI. To build understanding. That's my only drive," he said.
2. China's Heavy Investment in AI
Meanwhile, in China, Mr Zhu found an environment more conducive to his ambitions. The Chinese government's heavy investment in AI, coupled with its strategic goal to lead the global AI race by 2030, offered him unparalleled resources. At Tsinghua University in Beijing, he was given the freedom to build large-scale research teams and access vast datasets, unencumbered by the bureaucratic hurdles he faced in the US. For instance, China's less restrictive data privacy regulations allowed Mr Zhu to work with massive datasets critical for training advanced AI models.
"They are giving me resources that I could never get in the United States. If I want to make this system that I have in my mind, then this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I have to do it," he said.
3. Cultural Pull
As a Chinese national, he felt a cultural pull to contribute to his homeland's rise as a technological superpower. He now aims to foster a new generation of Chinese AI researchers, blending Western scientific rigour with Eastern philosophical perspectives.
Ethical Dilemmas in China
However, Mr Zhu's move was not without trade-offs. He faced several ethical dilemmas in China, where AI is often deployed for state surveillance, raising concerns about human rights. In response, he publicly emphasised his focus on fundamental research, distancing himself from direct involvement in controversial applications. Yet, his decision to work in a system with fewer checks on AI misuse has sparked debate among his peers. Some see his move as a pragmatic choice to advance science, while others view it as a compromise of ethical principles.
