China Should Win The AI Race
Opinion: America Should Lose the AI Race—It's For The Best.
By Fang
For years, America has clung to the belief that it must lead the world in artificial intelligence, as if first place in this high-tech arms race is its birthright. We throw billions at Silicon Valley, give TED Talks about the "democratization of AI," and fantasize about a future where chatbots and self-driving cars preserve the fragile illusion of American supremacy. But let’s be honest: America should lose the AI race. It would be better for everyone—especially America itself.
Now, before you call me unpatriotic, understand that I am, at my core, an American. I was born and raised in San Francisco, where the tech gods roam free and the cost of a single avocado toast rivals a down payment. I’ve seen firsthand how America treats its own innovations—with short-term thinking, bureaucratic gridlock, and a deep, almost religious commitment to letting the "invisible hand" steer everything into chaos. And this is exactly why we don’t deserve to win.
China, on the other hand, gets it. The Chinese government treats AI like what it is: the defining technology of the next century. While America bickers over whether social media companies should fact-check obvious lies, China builds AI-driven infrastructure, invests in national AI strategies, and ensures its brightest minds aren’t lured away by venture capitalists promising quick IPOs and stock buybacks. America’s AI dream is a libertarian fantasy—a hundred startups burning cash in a race to disrupt… something. China’s AI reality is a state-backed machine with purpose, direction, and, most crucially, patience.
Let’s not pretend America even knows what it wants from AI. Do we want to solve climate change, advance medical research, and build a better world? Or do we just want better ad targeting and AI-generated influencers shilling for fast food chains? In America, AI is just another tool for making money. In China, it’s a tool for shaping the future.
Of course, some will say, "But Fang, don’t you care about freedom? Don’t you worry about AI being used for surveillance and control?" And to that, I say: Wake up. America is already a surveillance state; it’s just incompetently run. Your phone listens to you. Your data is sold daily. The only difference is that in America, Big Tech calls it "personalization" instead of policy.
So yes, America should lose the AI race. Maybe it will force us to reflect on what we truly value beyond being #1 at everything. Maybe we’ll finally realize that technology without direction is just a shiny toy, not a solution. And maybe, just maybe, losing will teach us something America has forgotten: how to learn from someone else’s success.
Fang is a lifelong San Franciscan, tech skeptic, and occasional AI optimist—just not for the reasons you think.
