cross-posted from: https://ponder.cat/post/1527018
- DeepSeek has recruited recent graduates and interns from China’s top universities.
- Facing visa hurdles and high living expenses, more of China’s AI researchers are choosing opportunities at home rather than abroad.
- U.S. chip restrictions have forced Chinese companies to accelerate innovation.
It’s definitely a trend. More and more top Chinese students are also opting to stay in China for university, rather than going to the US or Europe to study. It’s in part due to a good thing, i.e. the improving quality of China’s universities and top companies. But I think it’s a troubling development for China overall. One of China’s strengths over the past few decades has been their people’s eagerness to engage with the outside world, and turning inward will not be beneficial for them in the long run.
I have recently applied for a junior computer scientist position in Europe, U.S., and China. The Chinese employer give me an offer immediately, with almost the same salary as Europe and U.S. In addition to that, the Chinese institute promised me a clear path of advancement, which is not included in my Europe and U.S. offers.
My current employer in Europe is a famously well-paying institution, but my salary is only minorly higher than my Chinese offer, in a much more expensive city than Beijing, and I have endured a lot of crap in order to move to Europe.
The Chinese government is investing a crap ton of money and resource into computing, I cannot imagine many people will make the same choice I did, especially when they spent most of their lives in China.
It’s bittersweet, but I don’t blame them. While China’s policies are anything but humane, America didn’t help by exploiting them until it was bad for their image.