Note: I had the chance to talk with Handel Jones of IBS soon after his book “When AI Rules The World: China, the U.S. and the Race to Control a Smart Planet” was published. My conversation was captured in a Q&A blog post that appeared on SEMI’s website. It’s now time for another look at his insightful and fascinating comments.

Handel Jones, CEO of International Business Strategies (IBS) and a well-known, longtime strategic analyst and commentator covering the semiconductor industry, authored the recently published book – When AI Rules The World: China, the U.S. and the Race to Control a Smart Planet.

Smith: The book starts off with the statement that China is way ahead in artificial intelligence (AI) and that the U.S. is dangerously behind. Can you summarize the main reasons this has happened?

Jones: AI is heavily dependent on connectivity bandwidth, and China is ahead of the U.S. in 5G connectivity. In addition, China is making extensive use of AI for 3D facial recognition, which is making transactions more efficient, and the mass market for 3D facial recognition is resulting in large improvements in the technology. The 3D facial recognition technology is being used in military applications, including drones, and other areas that require image recognition. This is one example of where China is moving ahead of the U.S. Other areas include adoption of digital currency, autonomous transportation, quantum computing, battery technology, smart robots, and health monitoring.

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A reminder that nominations for the Phil Kaufman Award and the Phil Kaufman Hall of Fame close Friday, June 30.

The annual Phil Kaufman Award for Distinguished Contributions to Electronic System Design, sponsored by the Electronic System Design Alliance (ESD Alliance) and the IEEE Council on Electronic Design Automation (CEDA), honor individuals who have made a visible and lasting impact on electronic design. Their influence could be as a technologist or engineering leader, a professional in education and mentorship or a C-level executive or someone promoting the industry or setting industry direction.

The Phil Kaufman Hall of Fame, introduced in 2021 by the ESD Alliance and the IEEE CEDA, pays tribute to deceased individuals who made significant and noteworthy creative, entrepreneurial and innovative contributions and helped our community’s growth. The designation was established due to an IEEE policy set where only living contributors are eligible to receive awards. Our first three recipients were Jim Hogan (1951–2021) and Ed McCluskey (1929-2016) in 2021 and Mark Templeton (1958-2016) in 2022. Jim Hogan was managing partner of Vista Ventures, LLC., and an experienced senior executive who worked in the semiconductor design and manufacturing industry for more than 40 years. Ed McCluskey, a professor at Stanford University, sustained a relentless pace of fundamental contributions for efficient and robust design, high-quality testing and reliable operation of digital systems. Mark Templeton (1958-2016), CEO of Artisan Components (now Arm), helped develop a fledgling IP industry into a multi-billion dollar business.
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