The Industrial Roots of Chinese AI

China’s current focus on artificial intelligence is often viewed through the lens of Large Language Models and digital chatbots. However, the foundation of this capability lies in industrial automation and the pursuit of hardware autonomy.

The origins of this movement trace back to the 1990s, driven by necessity following US export controls. In 1991, the US tightened controls and cut off sales of autonomous-guided vehicles to China. This disruption forced Chinese industrial centers to look inward. In 1993, a vehicle guided by a computer program, Xianfeng 1, landed on the floor of a car plant in Shenyang. This was the first of its kind in China, developed entirely by Chinese researchers.

This shift was led by Jiang Xinsong, a scientist at the Shenyang Institute of Automation (SIA) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). While modern discourse focuses on software, Jiang’s work focused on the physical manifestation of intelligence: automated car plants and intelligent oxygen furnaces for steel production.

The significance of this history is often overlooked in favor of more recent software breakthroughs. Jiang’s work represents an early form of industrial policy for AI, centered on the factory floor rather than the digital realm. He petitioned Beijing for resources that established a precedent for integrating AI into heavy industry.

As companies like Unitree advance the race for autonomous robots, the lineage of this technology remains tied to these early industrial efforts in the Northeast. The transition from American-made hardware to domestic automation in the 1990s set the stage for the current era of Chinese robotics.

Consider whether the current focus on generative AI overlooks the critical importance of the hardware-centric automation that began decades ago.

Source