Name: AI superpowers
ISBN: 9781328546395

AI superpowers

The United States has long been the leader in Artificial Intelligence. But Dr. Kai-Fu Lee--one of the world's most respected experts on AI--reveals that China has caught up to the US at an astonishingly rapid pace. As Sino-American competition in AI heats up, Lee envisions China and the US forming a powerful duopoly in AI. He outlines the upheaval of traditional jobs, how the suddenly unemployed will find new ways of making their lives meaningful, and how the Chinese and American governments will have to cope with the changing economic landscape. "Kai-Fu Lee--one of the world's most respected experts on AI and China--reveals that China has suddenly caught up to the United States at an astonishingly rapid and unexpected pace. In AI Superpowers, Kai-fu Lee argues powerfully that because of the unprecedented developments in artificial intelligence, dramatic changes will be happening much sooner than many of us have expected. Indeed, as the U.S.-China competition in AI begins to heat up, Lee urges America and China to both accept and embrace the great responsibilities that come with significant technological power. Most experts already say that AI will have a devastating impact on blue-collar jobs. But Lee predicts that Chinese and American AI will have a strong impact on white-collar jobs as well. Is universal basic income the solution? In Lee's opinion, probably not.

What Hacker News says

neuralhawkeJul 2026

Same way with AI.

It is almost like there is a book called AI Superpowers from 2018 that Kai-Fu Lee tells you exactly how all this is going to go.

Why would I read a book though when I can just repeat the nonsense from my social media feed?

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swed420Jan 2025

Yup. China has been kicking Silicon Valley's butt for some time now, and I don't see any signs of that changing any time soon.

This drives the point home:

AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38242135-ai-superpowers

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r_hanzDec 2024

Very much this. One of the best accounts of this progression I’ve read is the “AI Superpowers..” book by Kai-Fu Lee. China held the “Knock-off/cheap copycat” moniker in the 90s, 00s, and early 1Xs, but the tides are shifting in terms of the quality of goods they produced. They’ve also taken a page from American business and begun outsourcing “cheap labor” to other third-world nations, in addition to playing loan-shark to the likes of Africa… You have to hand it to the way the Chinese have gained their footing in “capitalism” since the 1980s.

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wodderamDec 2024

Kai-Fu Lee describes the culture so well in AI Superpowers. The roots are well before GPU restriction. Absolute cut throat competition.

Imagine Sam Altman throwing a chair out a window in a meeting lol.

The message of AI Superpowers is that China will lag the US at first but once things stabilize this will happen because China has a lot more engineers and a lot more data.

Anyone who hasn't read AI Superpowers should really make it a point to read it in 2025. It is an incredible book.

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wodderamDec 2024

Kai-Fu Lee gives great insight into the engineering culture in AI Superpowers.

What I get from that book is they have a culture of a free for all that anything can be copied and ripped off so there is no standing still to admire your work.

Innovate or get copied and innovated out of existence.

A stark contrast to what we have evolved in the US. Innovate and then use the profits of innovation to buy legislation that eliminates competition.

There is no mystery how this plays out over a 50 year time window.

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axelrozeJun 2021

Very likely. If someone is more interested in the current state of AI on a national level a very good book is AI Superpowers by Kai Fu Lee.

Data is the new Oil and USA is still clinging to the old oil while China has AI as number 1 priority.

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