AI superpowers
by Kai-Fu Lee · first published 2018
50% recommend46% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Background on China's tech industry versus Silicon Valley: data as the new oil, China's move past its copycat image, and a culture where anything can be copied. Suits readers wanting a national-level view of AI.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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 respect
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I am currently reading AI Superpowers https://www.amazon.com/AI-Superpowers-China-Silicon-Valley/d... which I can really recommend it has given me a completely new appreciation for the term competition.
on “China Rules – The Land That Failed to Fail” ↗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.
on “Machine learning is booming in medicine, but also facing a credibility crisis” ↗For a deeper background on this, I recommend "AI superpowers - China, Silicon Valley, and The New World Order" by Kai-Fu Lee.
on “Xi Jinping urges China to use artificial intelligence in race for tech future” ↗Li Kai Fu - AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order https://www.amazon.com/AI-Superpowers-China-Silicon-Valley/d... Despite unclear connection from the title, it's actually a good contextual background…
on “China’s assault on Cathay Pacific” ↗When China Rules the World by Jaqcues and AI Superpowers by Kai-Fu Lee are both very good.
on “U.S. widens trade blacklist to include some of China’s top AI startups” ↗…the history, trends, and other software companies. Here are some of my favorites: The Dream Machine Hackers: Heroes of the Computer a Revolution How the Internet Happened The Soul of a New Machine AI Superpowers Platform Revolution The Everything Store
on “Ask HN: Do you know any good audio books for developers?” ↗…deep moat for your business is not. Copying should be taken as a form of flattery and a push to keep innovating. There's no need for "acknowledgment." Edit: Kai-Fu Lee talked about this in his book "AI Superpowers" and mentioned how copying stigmas differ in China vs U.S. and what the impact is long-term. Great read.
on “GitHub ripped off Octobox for their new notifications UI” ↗Forward looking: Disunited Nations: The Scramble for Power in an Ungoverned World Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order Historical: The Birth of Plenty: How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty General:…
on “Ask HN: Which book helped you understand the world?” ↗…Modern China by Schell and Delury On modern China and it's ambitions, from Xi himself (these are speeches so there will be propaganda): Xi Jinping: The Governance of China Volume 1 On tech in China: AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World by Kai-Fu Lee
on “Dreams of a Red Emperor: The Relentless Rise of Xi Jinping” ↗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…
on “Why America's economy is soaring ahead of its rivals” ↗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…
on “Deepseek: The quiet giant leading China’s AI race” ↗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…
on “China to Build Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor in 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
on “TikTok preparing for U.S. shut-off on Sunday” ↗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?
on “Kimi K3 is now live” ↗I don't think that novaRom was not saying that we compete fairly. I read novaRom's comment to say that we can't win if we play fairly. I also read 'AI Superpowers' and I agree with the book's premise that long term China will win the 'AI war' economic competition because their society allows broad use of data and since they are more of an online Internet-connected…
on “MIT cuts ties with Chinese tech firms Huawei, ZTE” ↗