When ChatGPT launched in November 2022, it caused a spike in interest in artificial intelligence (AI) — not just among technology enthusiasts and business leaders, but among those in government, as well. American leaders hope to keep the U.S. at the front of AI development, while China’s leaders want to jump ahead.
On September 16, the UW Now Live will look at AI and where it is headed. Speaker Mike Splinter ’72, MS’74, will share his insights from a career working in the technology industry. He’s served as chair of the board for Applied Materials, on the board at TSMC (a Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer), and as executive vice president of Intel. “I’m a technologist who became a good manager who became a good leader,” he says.
What is your chief area of expertise?
My area of technical interest is the continued advancement of transistors. They are the fundamental key to our economy and security. As we approach the limits of classical physics, the future fundamental element of chips becomes dramatically more complicated. We can see methods to continue to advance for these devices for the next five to seven years. After that we will need significant innovation.
What do you plan to talk about on the livestream?
I’ll talk about the impacts of semiconductor industrial policy on our country’s leadership in AI and the subsequent effects on our economy and security. As most of you know every leading-edge chip — like the most advanced Nvidia chips — are made in Taiwan and will continue to be for a significant time into the future.
What is the one, main point you would like viewers to take away?
If our government is going to continue to engage in industrial policy, as it seems the last two administrations have been committed to do, we need a set of principles to guide that industrial policy that transcend political parties and focus on the fundamental needs of our country.
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There is lots of commentary from both sides on X and other social media sites, but I still tend to look to the Wall Street Journal for solid analysis.
