"Telegram Founder Durov Claims Chinese Education Outshines Western Standards"
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has linked the swift progress of artificial intelligence in China to the country's intensely competitive education system. Read Full Article at RT.com.
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**The Russian tech billionaire has warned that DeepSeek’s AI success is just the beginning**
Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov has attributed China’s rapid advancements in artificial intelligence to its highly competitive education system, underscoring the nation’s consistent excellence in both mathematics and programming.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Durov pointed out that China’s education system promotes “fierce competition” among students, a concept reminiscent of the “highly efficient” Soviet model. He contrasted this with Western educational approaches, where competition is often minimized to avoid hurting students’ feelings.
“Victory and defeat are two sides of the same coin. Eliminate the losers – and you eliminate the winners,” Durov stated in a post celebrating the Chinese New Year.
He highlighted that while it may appear kind to tell all students that they are champions regardless of their performance, this well-intentioned approach will be swiftly shattered by reality once they graduate.
“Reality, unlike well-meaning school policies, does have public grades and rankings – whether in sports, business, science, or technology,” he wrote on Wednesday, cautioning that the removal of transparency in student performance could render school meaningless for ambitious teenagers.
“AI benchmarks that demonstrate DeepSeek’s superiority are one of such public rankings. And more are coming,” he warned.
“China’s progress in algorithmic efficiency hasn’t come out of nowhere,” Durov explained, noting that Chinese students have “long outperformed others in math and programming at international Olympiads.”
China currently leads the US in cumulative medal counts at the International Mathematical Olympiad, with 185 gold medals to the US's 151, and has also excelled in the International Olympiad in Informatics, securing 102 medals compared to the US's 68. Although the US narrowly defeated China by two points in the 2024 IMO, ending a decade-long reign, some critics have attributed the victory to the “disproportionate” representation of Asian students on the American team.
Durov’s remarks came in the wake of the success of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, which has created an open-source reasoning model without access to cutting-edge US chips and at a significantly reduced cost. He warned that unless the US education system undergoes major reforms to promote competition and acknowledge excellence, China’s increasing dominance in technology seems unavoidable.
Aarav Patel for TROIB News
Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov has attributed China’s rapid advancements in artificial intelligence to its highly competitive education system, underscoring the nation’s consistent excellence in both mathematics and programming.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Durov pointed out that China’s education system promotes “fierce competition” among students, a concept reminiscent of the “highly efficient” Soviet model. He contrasted this with Western educational approaches, where competition is often minimized to avoid hurting students’ feelings.
“Victory and defeat are two sides of the same coin. Eliminate the losers – and you eliminate the winners,” Durov stated in a post celebrating the Chinese New Year.
He highlighted that while it may appear kind to tell all students that they are champions regardless of their performance, this well-intentioned approach will be swiftly shattered by reality once they graduate.
“Reality, unlike well-meaning school policies, does have public grades and rankings – whether in sports, business, science, or technology,” he wrote on Wednesday, cautioning that the removal of transparency in student performance could render school meaningless for ambitious teenagers.
“AI benchmarks that demonstrate DeepSeek’s superiority are one of such public rankings. And more are coming,” he warned.
“China’s progress in algorithmic efficiency hasn’t come out of nowhere,” Durov explained, noting that Chinese students have “long outperformed others in math and programming at international Olympiads.”
China currently leads the US in cumulative medal counts at the International Mathematical Olympiad, with 185 gold medals to the US's 151, and has also excelled in the International Olympiad in Informatics, securing 102 medals compared to the US's 68. Although the US narrowly defeated China by two points in the 2024 IMO, ending a decade-long reign, some critics have attributed the victory to the “disproportionate” representation of Asian students on the American team.
Durov’s remarks came in the wake of the success of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, which has created an open-source reasoning model without access to cutting-edge US chips and at a significantly reduced cost. He warned that unless the US education system undergoes major reforms to promote competition and acknowledge excellence, China’s increasing dominance in technology seems unavoidable.
Aarav Patel for TROIB News
