US and China take different approaches in the race for AI power

In short: The United States and China are competing to lead in AI, and they are doing it with very different strategies.

What's going on

Commentators including Kai-Fu Lee have described an AI race where the US tends to focus on inventing new AI techniques, while China focuses on rolling AI out quickly and widely. Think of it like one country spending more time designing the engine, and the other building lots of cars and getting them on the road.

In the US, much of the work is driven by private companies and investors, especially around research. In China, AI is treated more directly as a national project, with government-led targets and broad coordination. This difference in approach is part of why the two countries often talk about AI in different ways, including how much to worry about risks and how tightly to control development.

Money is a big reason the rivalry matters. A widely cited PwC estimate says AI could add $15.7 trillion to the world economy by 2030, and some analyses argue the US and China could capture most of that gain. The US has tried to slow China’s progress in some areas by limiting access to advanced computer chips, which are a key ingredient for training AI systems (training is like running an AI through practice problems until it gets better).

What to watch

Watch whether US restrictions push China to build more of its own chips and tools, which could reduce US leverage over time. Also watch how other countries respond, since many may end up depending on US or Chinese AI systems, much like relying on a small number of suppliers for essential goods.

Source: NYTimes