When AI Rules the World: China, the U.S., and the Race to Control a Smart Planet

by Handel Jones

As China rises to true superpower status, the United States must take immediate action to catch up in AI capabilities—or face falling disastrously behind technologically, economically, and militarily.

Over the past decade, China has quietly and methodically moved into a near-leadership position in artificial intelligence technologies on a global scale. Meanwhile, the United States has responded ineffectively, weighed down by politics, bureaucracy, and an absence of clear strategy.

In the near future, wars will be fought not over land, but over data. Machines will quickly discover individualized treatments for diseases, and with the help of virtual reality, AI will inspect buildings that have not yet been built. With the rising interest in these technologies by both China and the U.S., who will emerge as the victor of this technological race?

When AI Rules the World is an investigation and call to action into AI technologies for a nation that does not yet comprehend the full gravity of the AI revolution. The United States is losing the race for AI dominance, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

224 pages, Hardcover

Published October 11, 2022

About the author

Handel Jones is a leading expert on China's industrial and economic emergence. "Chinamerica" analyzes the activities of China in building its industrial base, but also its dependence on exporting to the U.S. and other developed countries. "

Reviews

[AnnaZ. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for newbies in AI topic like me. I like style of the author; the content is a bit tech focused but at the same the book is written in a quite understandable and clear manner.
The AI race between China and US? Who has best chances to win it? The book is good structured and looks at the technology race between the two countries from different aspects/ industry focus.

I learned a lot of interesting facts, liked some futuristic projections. Again, quite good basic reading on the topic.

Below some highlights:

“It is clear to me that China's leaders understand the benefits and threats of AI in a global sense. They know that leadership in Al is far more important than leadership in nuclear weap-ons, because, like steam and electrical power, AI will impact all industries civilian and military.”

“Al-empowered technologies also have a dark side, at least from an American perspective. By 2040, smart "superphones" will transmit information to the cloud, reporting the moods and physical conditions of people, who can be monitored in real time by AI algorithms. Among other things, this helps the government search for dissatisfied citizens who are likely to become dissidents.
AI revolution will happen much much faster”


1

Virtual digital twin digital extension of both the person's data and his or her analytic capabilities.
- The memory will expand into an exhaustive database on a person
- China declared to become the world leader in AI by 2030

2

- the cornerstones of todays AI technology are “neutral networks”, a technology similar to neurons in the brain that permit a machine to learn on its own.

3

- Like it or not, AI would be the core of future warfighting strategies. The question was this: On the battlefield of the future, whose AI technology would prevail?
- China invests in the unmanned combat weapon systems, while U.S. uses AI as a supportive technology, while humans are operating the machines.
- For China AI is seen as an effective means of compensating for persistent challenges of human talent. The U.S. has usually recognized the skills of its human workforce as an advantage. While this provides opportunities for talented service people to play key roles, it raises the question of whether the U.S. military services will have difficulty in creating an AI-ready culture.

4

- The ability to implement broad changes in U.S. healthcare is diffused among many powerful, conflicted players in a convoluted system in which government plays only a partial role.As a result, systemic change is slow, incremental, and politically fraught. By contrast, China, with its centralized power and leadership, stands a far better chance than the U.S. of using Al to achieve many quick and dramatic changes over the next two decades.

5

- The automotive industry is undergoing three interrelated, Al-driven revolutions simultaneously: the rise of electric vehi-cles, the emergence of ride-hailing and shared mobility services, and the development of automated or autonomous vehicles.
- The level of air pollution in China pushes the country to develop the electric cars industry.
- As of today, U.S. is leading in the development of autonomous car technologies, but China will catch up soon. Due to China’a unique environment it will be challenging to introduce the self driving cars arose the country.

6

- The U.S. is currently the global leader in VR algorithm technology and content in both the industrial and consumer envi-ronments. U.S. companies, including Facebook and Apple, will likely be active in developing VR hardware in the future, but most manufacturing will be located in Asia.
- Chinese VR and AR companies depend on imported chips, mostly from the U.S.

7

- China is the leader in 5G;
- 5G is strongly supported by the government policies, while in U.S. it is rather developed by a private sector.
- China will most likely develop 6G first and without U.S. help and after that happens, U.S. might end up far behind China.

8

- There are some distinct similarities between the space race with the Soviet Union and the development of artificial intelligence today in the United States and China. Both are high-stakes technology competitions. And both have enormous military, political, and economic implications.
- By 2030, China will be firmly ahead of the United States in AI. In 2040, major parts of society will be under the control of Al, and it will be too late.
- To avoid it US government should be more proactive in leading AI development; establish Au security council; focus on key industries like digital health, autonomous transportation, logistics ..; invest in R&D; fund AI initiatives in private sector; think more long term and strategic.
-

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative comparison between the AI superpowers of China and the US, and supporting technologies and developments. Each chapter outlines how AI is changing certain industries from health to transportation to warfare to AR/VR. There is some discussion about policy and how not to fall behind the other. China might have messy data (but honestly, everyone does), but they're able to gather more data than the privacy-conscious America. There's much more discussion about this-is-whats-being-developed-by-private-industry-in-this-country, but that certainly has implications for who is "winning" the AI/data race.

There wasn't much mind-blowly unique information from this book, but it does provide a great outline all in one place of current trends and future speculations. Some applications may be more overblown and optimistic than others, but it's good to know.

Recommended to those trying to understand applications of AI, data and digitization in various industries in the US vs China.

[Dorine · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book that reads like an internet listicle, lacking any really new, breakthrough ideas. I expected a bit of reflection on who owns (big) data or information and the consequences of that, but Jones only gives a description of the AI race between China and mentions that the US has it easier on some points as a non-democracy. At some points he writes some things that potentially could be interesting and new, but he never explains how he comes to those ideas. He for example steers a bit into science fiction when he mentions possible dystopian consequences of VR; 'in the worst case the masses would be subject to government mind control', and ends the bit there.

[Ty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Handel Jones is an extremely smart technology analyst with a long history of working in and with China, so I was really looking forward to seeing what he had to say about the AI situation in the world today. Unfortunately, Mr. Jones spends a great deal of this very small book on recounting statistics and playing back series of events, with adding much in the way of analysis. This book will be useful for someone who wants an introduction to the subject, but is not much use to a person who is deeply involved in the technology industry day to day.

[Salman Ahsan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book is a decent snapshot of the state of AI circa 2021, saving the reader a couple of hours of research on the internet. But beyond that there is little to recommend the book. The analysis is shallow and borders on hyperbole, personal insights and anecdotes are absent and all one is left with is a series of facts and numbers that are already beginning to sound dated towards the end of 2024.