China's AI Breakthrough Defies 'Theft' Narrative, Says Cohere CEO

Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez has challenged US claims that China's AI advancements are solely based on theft. Speaking to CNBC, he argued that characterizing China's progress as mere distillation misreads the situation.

Gomez acknowledged that some distillation may have occurred, but stated that it doesn't fully explain the picture. He pointed out that Chinese AI models now outperform their US counterparts on various benchmarks, which would be impossible if they were merely copies.

Gomez specifically mentioned the latest GLM models from China, which process around 10 trillion tokens per day using domestically produced chips. This, he said, shows that China is not only building competitive AI software but also running it on its own silicon.

The US government has countered with evidence of systematic efforts by Chinese companies to extract knowledge from leading American AI models. However, Gomez's stance is notable for contrasting with other tech leaders who have aligned with the narrative that US technology remains essential to China's AI progress.