Microsoft asks China-based AI workers to move overseas

Posted by Admin May 16, 2024 Tech

Microsoft is offering China-based employees working in artificial intelligence (AI) the option of relocating to overseas locations such as the US, Australia and Ireland, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The employees, including those from the Azure cloud computing team who were notified earlier this week, must make a decision by June 7. They can stay on with the China team if they decide not to relocate, one person said.

However, Microsoft has stopped hiring in China, according to one of the people, so there will not be new job openings.

The Redmond, Washington-based tech giant has offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou, in eastern Jiangsu province. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Microsoft is making the offer to 700 to 800 people, mostly those working on machine learning, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

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The tech firm told the state-run newspaper China Daily that the relocation programme affects “a small number of employees in China” who will “have the opportunity to choose international rotations”. Those who stay in China “can continue in their current positions”.

The decision follows a move last year to relocate some of its top AI researchers from China to a new research lab in Vancouver, Canada, according to a report by the Financial Times. Microsoft said then that the new Vancouver lab would be staffed by researchers from offices worldwide, including China.

The relocations come as Microsoft is betting big on AI. It is the biggest backer of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, and it uses the start-up’s tech in its Copilot tool that the tech firm is integrating into a slew of products from office apps to coding utilities. But the rapidly advancing technology has become a flashpoint in the US-China tech war.

Relocating AI personnel shows “the impact of the geopolitical tension between the US and China is being transmitted from the national level to the corporate level”, said Beijing-based think tank Ambound, adding that China needs to think long-term about “talent cultivation and retention”.

At a bilateral meeting in Geneva on Tuesday, US officials raised concerns over the misuse of AI, including by China, while Beijing made clear its “solemn position” on US restrictions and suppression of China in the AI field.

The administration of US President Joe Biden is mulling new restrictions on the export to China of proprietary or closed source AI models, including the large language models that power popular chatbots like ChatGPT, Reuters reported last week, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Against this backdrop, Microsoft has been the only major industry player that has continued to court business for its AI services in mainland China and Hong Kong. While Beijing restricts overseas AI services on the mainland, OpenAI and Google have blocked Hong Kong internet protocol addresses from using their AI products despite no laws explicitly preventing them from serving the market.

If the US restricts the use of AI software, it would add to mounting restrictions on Chinese firms’ access to advanced semiconductors and chip-making tools. The US also recently imposed additional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and semiconductors, and has been pushing forward a bill to restrict commercial ties with Chinese biotech companies and their subsidiaries.