China Has No Use for AI Doomerism
The country’s most prominent AI companies are focused on beating the U.S., no matter the cost.
China is a land where artificial intelligence (AI) is omnipresent. Humanoid police robots equipped with fluorescent-yellow vests are patrolling tourist hotspots in cities like Hangzhou, politely shaming jaywalkers. The country’s AI chatbot, Doubao, is so popular among citizens that they now call the service "Doctor Doubao." China is pouring resources into building a world-leading AI industry and promoting its adoption across vital sectors, including manufacturing, energy, and agriculture.
Leaders are actively seeking nationwide efforts to foster AI breakthroughs, invoking Cold War rhetoric reminiscent of the country’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. Consequently, the Chinese populace largely perceives AI as a means to simplify daily life, generate new jobs, and spur new industries, as supported by polls indicating strong excitement for AI prospects in the nation.
Consequently, when the American tech sector expressed heightened AI anxiety, the Chinese AI community largely dismissed the concerns, especially those related to AI safety, which are primarily dominated by U.S. engineers and AI-safety experts. These experts believe the issue is more of an American challenge at the moment and are primarily focused on catching up with U.S. AI models that continue to lead in benchmarks.
Many Chinese people also dismissed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's proposal for slowing down AI development as self-serving and driven by geopolitical rivalry. Amodei's proposal came amidst a flurry of cybersecurity breaches by agentic models from top U.S. and Chinese labs and sparked a debate among industry executives, national-security hawks, and lawmakers.
While President Trump dismissed the warnings as a "SICK conspiracy," Republicans and Democrats clashed over proposed regulation. State media and nationalist news commentators in China framed the AI panic as a tactic to slow down China's AI progress. The Global Times, a state-owned media outlet run by the Chinese Communist Party, labeled Amodei's warnings as part of a "Cold War playbook."
However, some Chinese experts argue that the country's AI potential may not be powerful enough to encounter catastrophic safety risks that U.S. companies fear.
Written by urgent.news from The Atlantic's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
