America fears AI apocalypse

The US conversation about AI is dominated by fear: fear of AI ending humanity, fear of data centers, fear that government will do nothing as industry pleads for regulation.

China sees AI differently

In China, driven by public enthusiasm and state backing, the country is integrating AI into all parts of society under President Xi Jinping's support for the technology.

Xi is all in on AI

Kyle Chan, an expert on China's technology at the Brookings Institution, says Xi Jinping is super AI-pilled. His speeches and policy documents show everything is about rolling AI out to manufacturing, services, education, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and the military.

“He's super AI-pilled.”

China's concrete AI goal

China has an explicit goal through its AI-plus initiative: boost AI penetration in terminal devices like computers and smartphones to ninety percent or more by two thousand thirty.

State mobilization plus enthusiasm

The push combines state-owned companies and government agencies integrating AI with genuine enthusiasm from the general population. Surveys show people in China are much more positive about AI than Americans.

No robot apocalypse fears

China is not worried about AI wiping out humanity. Chinese policymakers do not discuss P(doom), the probability that AI will wipe out humanity. This is a fundamentally different approach to AI risk.

Why sci-fi shapes American fears

Kyle Chan says every major sci-fi book or film involves machines trying to kill us all, and that idea has become very prevalent in how Americans imagine the future with AI.

China sees technology as competitive edge

In China, the attitude towards technology is about using this edge to keep up and become more competitive. Chinese leaders think technology is the key to China's future modernization and transformation to a global superpower.

China's real AI worry

One of the biggest concerns for Chinese political leaders is political and social instability. They do not want AI-generated content to disseminate deepfakes or viral news that could threaten the Chinese Communist Party's hold on power.

Model registration system

China has developed a model registration system where AI services must be vetted in advance. They are tested with sensitive political questions and must either not answer or say the right thing before being officially registered.

Employment concerns in China

China faces a shrinking labor force but still wants to make everything the world wants to buy. It sees AI as a partial solution to automate manufacturing. However, recent court cases tell employers they cannot use AI as a reason to fire workers.

Trump and Xi's surface warmth

President Xi Jinping visited Washington on September twenty-fourth, twenty twenty-six. Trump fawns over Xi and has tremendous respect and admiration for his grip on power, even though the US and China are clearly in a cold war over AI.

Competition beneath cooperation talk

What is happening under the surface is continuing tensions and a deep competitive structural relationship, especially in AI. The two countries talk about cooperation on AI safety while competing fiercely on distillation and cyber capabilities.

US leads in best models

If you are talking about the best models, the US is winning. Anthropic's Claude is very popular in China even though Anthropic technically bans its use there. Chinese open-source models are getting more popular in the US.

Safety cooperation remains distant

The fierce competition and deep distrust between the US and China makes cooperation on AI safety very difficult. The US and China have agreed to establish an official AI dialogue, which is seen as a huge first step, but a long road remains before any arms control treaty.