AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order
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- Create Date：2021-09-14 06:51:42
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Kai-Fu Lee
- ISBN：0358105587
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Summary
Dr。 Kai-Fu Lee—one of the world’s most respected experts on AI and China—reveals that China has suddenly caught up to the US at an astonishingly rapid and unexpected pace。
Kai-Fu Lee argues powerfully that because of these unprecedented developments in AI， dramatic changes will be happening much sooner than many of us expected。 Indeed， as the US-Sino AI competition begins to heat up， Lee urges the US and China to both accept and to 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。 But he provides a clear description of which jobs will be affected and how soon， which jobs can be enhanced with AI， and most importantly， how we can provide solutions to some of the most profound changes in human history that are coming soon。
Kai-Fu Lee argues powerfully that because of these unprecedented developments in AI， dramatic changes will be happening much sooner than many of us expected。 Indeed， as the US-Sino AI competition begins to heat up， Lee urges the US and China to both accept and to 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。 But he provides a clear description of which jobs will be affected and how soon， which jobs can be enhanced with AI， and most importantly， how we can provide solutions to some of the most profound changes in human history that are coming soon。
Reviews
Fabio Ismerim Ismerim
，
Já estava na fila há 1 ano e meio。 Ainda bem que não adiei por mais tempo a leitura。Uma obra incrível sobre a “corrida” pela supremacia no campo da Inteligência Artificial entre as duas potências EUA e China。Em uma entrevista no programa do Pedro Bial para a divulgação do livro no Brasil， o apresentador fez uma pergunta interessante: “Se os chineses vão aos EUA para estudar nas maiores universidades do mundo para aprender sobre o assunto e depois trabalhar no Vale do Silício， por que então a Chi Já estava na fila há 1 ano e meio。 Ainda bem que não adiei por mais tempo a leitura。Uma obra incrível sobre a “corrida” pela supremacia no campo da Inteligência Artificial entre as duas potências EUA e China。Em uma entrevista no programa do Pedro Bial para a divulgação do livro no Brasil， o apresentador fez uma pergunta interessante: “Se os chineses vão aos EUA para estudar nas maiores universidades do mundo para aprender sobre o assunto e depois trabalhar no Vale do Silício， por que então a China pode se tornar uma potência nesse ramo？”Kai-Fu Lee é categórico: “Por causa dos dados。 Simples。 Ninguém no planeta tem acesso a uma quantidade tão grande de dados como a China。”Aquela entrevista não saiu da minha mente desde então， e o livro conta muito bem o processo que a China passou para sair de um país predominantemente agrícola para uma referência em pesquisa e desenvolvimento em Inteligência Artificial。O autor mostra também as preocupações e os perigos dos avanços que estão emergindo dessa nova Revolução。Não consegui parar de ler e recomendo muito para qualquer um que queira entender para onde estamos rumando。 Como um Cientista de Dados que trabalha no Brasil， fiquei bem desanimado o quanto estamos atrasados e muuuuito distante da fronteira da ciência da inovação。 Não vejo como a China não dominar esse campo。Também pude me despir de diversos （pré） conceitos sobre a China， sua cultura e seu governo。Recomendo！！！ 。。。more
Ben Smitthimedhin
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Recently， I came across a VICE video investigating China’s “996” workers， most of them based in giant tech corporations like Tencent and Baidu。 These employees work from 9-9， 6 days a week （sometimes longer） to ensure that their employer becomes or remains China’s number one tech empire。 Lee’ thesis is that at the rate that these tech giants are growing， with the push of the CCP and 996 workers， the Chinese tech market will soon mine enough data to overtake Google， Facebook， and Apple。 While U。S Recently， I came across a VICE video investigating China’s “996” workers， most of them based in giant tech corporations like Tencent and Baidu。 These employees work from 9-9， 6 days a week （sometimes longer） to ensure that their employer becomes or remains China’s number one tech empire。 Lee’ thesis is that at the rate that these tech giants are growing， with the push of the CCP and 996 workers， the Chinese tech market will soon mine enough data to overtake Google， Facebook， and Apple。 While U。S。 tech culture values breakthroughs in research （Artificial intelligence being the current trendsetter）， the Chinese tech market is more adept at applying existing technologies to the lives of common people: app-based payment systems， bike-sharing schemes， online shops， and food-delivery services， these technologies offload the inconveniences that accompany living in crowded cities and are used widely in many Asian countries。 So while the U。S。 government and Silicon Valley will continue to fuel technological innovation， it is China who’s turning these findings into gold。Though Lee’s analysis is spot-on （with decades of experience in the field）， I found the chapter on his cancer a little cliché: Chinese tech mogul turned venture capitalist is suddenly convinced that technology should be used to love others better… ok。 Still， I do appreciate his proposal for a more humane economic policy as the labor market shifts drastically in these next few decades。 。。。more
Andrew Rozara
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Would give this a 4。5 which would have been a 5 had parts of it been shorter - in particular the latter chapters about the author's personal struggles。 While poignant， felt too much attention was placed on it。 It also spent much less time on actual AI tech than I thought。 The portions about history of China's tech ecosystem， the cultural differences with Silicon Valley etc are well worth picking up the book。 Would give this a 4。5 which would have been a 5 had parts of it been shorter - in particular the latter chapters about the author's personal struggles。 While poignant， felt too much attention was placed on it。 It also spent much less time on actual AI tech than I thought。 The portions about history of China's tech ecosystem， the cultural differences with Silicon Valley etc are well worth picking up the book。 。。。more
Kobie
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Highly recommended if you're new to AI， not recommended if you're already familiar with the tech powering the field。Gets three stars because of the accessible insights into Chinese startup culture， which were great。 Probably somewhat stale now given recent actions by CCP against Chinese tech companies。 Highly recommended if you're new to AI， not recommended if you're already familiar with the tech powering the field。Gets three stars because of the accessible insights into Chinese startup culture， which were great。 Probably somewhat stale now given recent actions by CCP against Chinese tech companies。 。。。more
Scott Shaw
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Very interesting insight on the world of technology and the roles its played all over the world。
Lily
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Overall， very insightful thoughts on the rise of AI and the grim picture it holds for exacerbating inequality。 I’m thoroughly convinced that China is a major （and underestimated） player in this field。 Be warned that this author loves monopolies， suckering millions of teens into increasing screen time for profit， and creepy shopping experiences where robots try to upsell you in the checkout line。 The last part of the book sounds like it was written by a different person。 I speculate he had a life Overall， very insightful thoughts on the rise of AI and the grim picture it holds for exacerbating inequality。 I’m thoroughly convinced that China is a major （and underestimated） player in this field。 Be warned that this author loves monopolies， suckering millions of teens into increasing screen time for profit， and creepy shopping experiences where robots try to upsell you in the checkout line。 The last part of the book sounds like it was written by a different person。 I speculate he had a life event and then forgot to edit the first part of the book to match his change of heart。 For example， the whole book pits China against the US in the race towards general AI - there’s an entire chapter that breaks down the areas of AI with a statistical likelihood of which country will win out。 But in his change of heart last chapter， he insists that we take a more humanistic approach （agreed） and that this is not a race。 Okay… sure。 The author can be very opinionated on many things， including ones he clearly hasn’t thought much about it， which is unfortunate since it makes me question some of his other points I felt were very sound。 For example， he’s extremely dismissive of UBI without providing any sort of reasonable alternative - his hand-wavy suggestion， although nice sounding， has huge beauractic and administrative overhead （which he himself admits）。 。。。more
Danit Jantarawirot
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It’s definitely interesting to imagine where AI will bring our society to and how should we adapt to it when it emerges。 The book mentions two different approaches from two countries。 While Silicon Valley focuses on mission driven products， China on the other hand focuses on market driven innovations。
John
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This is an interesting take on the technological advances happening right now in Silicon Valley and in China's equivalent。 The author does a great job bringing us up to speed with the latest developments （as of 2018）， and detailing the differences between China's path to the internet age， and that of the US。 I wish the author would have gone more into the downsides of these technologies beyond the massive job losses。 For example， talk about how China's smart cities are using this data to create This is an interesting take on the technological advances happening right now in Silicon Valley and in China's equivalent。 The author does a great job bringing us up to speed with the latest developments （as of 2018）， and detailing the differences between China's path to the internet age， and that of the US。 I wish the author would have gone more into the downsides of these technologies beyond the massive job losses。 For example， talk about how China's smart cities are using this data to create a social credit system to basically control the people。I would also like to hear his comments about more recent events using AI， such as its role in creating the cycle of disinformation and fake news that were very prominent in the 2020 US election， and the current debates about masks and vaccines。Overall， this is an interesting book and worth the read。 However， even though it is only 3 years old it is already dated material。 。。。more
Will Y
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3。75/5。0A solid summary of the author’s view on the future of AI in terms of policies， socio-economic impact， and geopolitics。 Not extraordinarily groundbreaking but a concise read that covers all the bases。The author also believes we must do more beyond UBI。
Marlene Dahle
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Really interesting to hear Kai-Fu Lee views on the differences in the AI-field between China and the US， as well as the history leading up to today's situation。 Great insight into the "Chinese model" of AI development。 The final chapters were unfortunately not worth taking the time to read， starting from when he talks in general about AI （very， very basic）， and then moves onto his personal life and finally to the future of AI。 Pretty bad and fluffy arguments。 Really interesting to hear Kai-Fu Lee views on the differences in the AI-field between China and the US， as well as the history leading up to today's situation。 Great insight into the "Chinese model" of AI development。 The final chapters were unfortunately not worth taking the time to read， starting from when he talks in general about AI （very， very basic）， and then moves onto his personal life and finally to the future of AI。 Pretty bad and fluffy arguments。 。。。more
Murilo Forte
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“In stark contrast， China’s startup culture is the yin to Silicon Valley’s yang: instead of being mission-driven， Chinese companies are first and foremost market-driven。 Their ultimate goal is to make money， and they’re willing to create any product， adopt any model， or go into any business that will accomplish that objective。 That mentality leads to incredible flexibility in business models and execution， a perfect distillation of the “lean startup” model often praised in Silicon Valley。 It doe “In stark contrast， China’s startup culture is the yin to Silicon Valley’s yang: instead of being mission-driven， Chinese companies are first and foremost market-driven。 Their ultimate goal is to make money， and they’re willing to create any product， adopt any model， or go into any business that will accomplish that objective。 That mentality leads to incredible flexibility in business models and execution， a perfect distillation of the “lean startup” model often praised in Silicon Valley。 It doesn’t matter where an idea came from or who came up with it。 All that matters is whether you can execute it to make a financial profit。 The core motivation for China’s market-driven entrepreneurs is not fame， glory， or changing the world。 Those things are all nice side benefits， but the grand prize is getting rich， and it doesn’t matter how you get there。” 。。。more
Aidan O'Brien
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Really enjoyable book for someone who is ignorant to what is going on in China （me）。 Can be a little over the top pro China in places but it's healthy given all the anti China stuff in the western news。 Really enjoyable book for someone who is ignorant to what is going on in China （me）。 Can be a little over the top pro China in places but it's healthy given all the anti China stuff in the western news。 。。。more
Eric Muellejans
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Wonderful overview of Chinese startup ecosystem and the potential applications and perils of AI amongst China and the US。 Spoiler: book takes a surprising reflective turn on the necessary compassion needed in our world and our design of AI。 Easily the most well written and thoughtful technology I have ever read。 A much read for anyone working in the Valley， technology， or worries their job may be replaced。
Francisca Javiera
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un punto de vista muy interesante con respecto al avance de la tecnología y en especial de la IA tanto en eeuu como en china。 La verdad es un libro que te ofrece ambas visiones ya que el autor， tuvo la posibilidad de trabajar en EEUU y también en China， por lo que conoce muy bien como funcionan ambos mundos， sus fortalezas pero tambien sus debilidades。 Sin duda una gran lectura para todos los que somos fan de la tecnología:）
Timbray Shafer
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Everyone should read this。 Approachable language and a great mix of history， short-scale projection， and long-term implications and options for reshuffling social， economic， and political systems in the wake of AI。
Sverre
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An interesting， but somewhat disappointing book about the past， present and future of AI。 Kai-Fu Lee is certainly has a way more positive outlook of the phenomena than Yuval Harari had in Homo Deus。 Personally， I was hoping for a book that delved deeper into the geopolitical sides of artificial intelligence， US and China-driven AI competition， and potentials for military applications。 Instead， business-savvy Lee is focused more on the cultural differences between Silicon Valley and China， the us An interesting， but somewhat disappointing book about the past， present and future of AI。 Kai-Fu Lee is certainly has a way more positive outlook of the phenomena than Yuval Harari had in Homo Deus。 Personally， I was hoping for a book that delved deeper into the geopolitical sides of artificial intelligence， US and China-driven AI competition， and potentials for military applications。 Instead， business-savvy Lee is focused more on the cultural differences between Silicon Valley and China， the use of deep learning and algorithms to meet consumer needs， and a discussion of how AI may affect the workforce in the future。This book also suffers from struggling to stay focused。 Lee's chapter on his struggles with cancer is moving， but I'm left feeling this would make for a great memoir instead of a book dealing with AI。 I'm also left with the impression that Lee knows more about AI than he cares to write about， and the glimpses we do get about AI applications are mostly surface-level。 On the plus side， this book was extremely readable and easy to get through in a short amount of time。 If anything， it was a good introduction to a topic I know too little about。 。。。more
Cyrus
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Really thought-provoking， easy to read， hits the major points。 Doesn't dive very deep but gives a pretty good spot to start discussion and further research。Author is kind of a douche， but good life lessons i guses Really thought-provoking， easy to read， hits the major points。 Doesn't dive very deep but gives a pretty good spot to start discussion and further research。Author is kind of a douche， but good life lessons i guses 。。。more
Firuza Karimova
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Enjoyed this book and appreciated it’s China vs US approach that looked into cultural differences to explain the topic beyond just tech/economic advances。 Author’s story about him facing and surviving cancer was unexpected， and rounded up the book well。 I agree with his view of what matters most to humans。 The only criticism is at times， book is rather repetitive and could lose 30 pages。
Darin
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Intriguing and insightful book。 The author depicts a future inspired by his own misfortune and experience in life where humans can prosper in a world shaped by love， what we are best at， and not by work and money。 A lot is elaborated on the differences with the US and the advantages of China as a leading AI superpower in many aspects。 It is not an easy hook-up read because at times it can be dry but I think well worth the read。 I would NOT advise you to read it if you are looking for details and Intriguing and insightful book。 The author depicts a future inspired by his own misfortune and experience in life where humans can prosper in a world shaped by love， what we are best at， and not by work and money。 A lot is elaborated on the differences with the US and the advantages of China as a leading AI superpower in many aspects。 It is not an easy hook-up read because at times it can be dry but I think well worth the read。 I would NOT advise you to read it if you are looking for details and technical explanations about how AI works。 This book gives an overview of how AI is developing in the world and is by no means a scientific book。 。。。more
Rick Wilson
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Thought this would be a bit fluffy and light on content due to the cover and hyperbolic positioning。 Glad to say this is a fantastic book from someone who is deeply immersed in the subject。 Kai-Fu Lee worked for Microsoft’s Research Asia division in the 90s， built out much of Google China in the 2000’s and now does investment in the AI space in China。 As a Chinese investor in mostly Chinese companies， it follows that this is a mostly pro-China tech industry book。 Basically every early chapter is Thought this would be a bit fluffy and light on content due to the cover and hyperbolic positioning。 Glad to say this is a fantastic book from someone who is deeply immersed in the subject。 Kai-Fu Lee worked for Microsoft’s Research Asia division in the 90s， built out much of Google China in the 2000’s and now does investment in the AI space in China。 As a Chinese investor in mostly Chinese companies， it follows that this is a mostly pro-China tech industry book。 Basically every early chapter is oriented around “Why China will lead the world in this area。” For example in chapter 5 when talking about business-based intelligence and how US firms rely much more on external consulting which sets them up to have better data available， Lee ends his point by saying “but you never know， with technology anyone can leapfrog the current system” ok dude。 I’ll buy a lot of it。 But not all of it。 The book also neatly skips over delicate political subjects like the use of AI in northwestern China as a sort of panopticon technological prison。 This book mostly focuses on how much potential the Chinese market has to be the global leader in the space， and often points to leading statistics on how much Chinese companies and universities are contributing。 And while this book is not necessarily set up to critique the space that way it was a glaring omission。 However that being said， this book does a fantastic job of pointing to the advantages of China in the arms race that is AI research。 Government support， national alignment and work ethic， and the growing education capabilities。 The book also takes a hard turn about halfway through into a more speculative area。 What do we do about the changes coming due to this technology？ The credibility built by the author pays off in a way that I think proved very effective。 His personal story lends some credibility to his slightly “namaste” peace-love-and-happiness， take on how we should deal with the changes。 I think his criticism of UBI inside is one of the better I’ve read。 Positioning it as a sweeping “one-size-fits-all“ solution to a highly varied problem is flawed。 And anyone with half a brain cell can agree that we need to compensate emotional labor and care positions in a more sustainable way。 I think many of the points are well-founded。 Lee is obviously very enthusiastic at times and can get carried away with the subject he talks about， but that’s a given and easily understandable given his background。 There’s some flaws that critical thinking solves easily， but overall this is one of the better books I’ve read about the topic。 I think anyone interested in AI and learning more about the next 5 to 20 years， or looking for insight into the Chinese technology market should read this book。 。。。more
Rafael Fraga
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Obligatory read for anyone who wants to understand the AI business panorama
Donovan
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i can't believe i made myself suffer through 46 entire pages written by a venture capitalist who honestly believes the problem with silicon valley is that the companies are "mission driven" and not profit driven before i finally stopped trying to give it a chance。 i can't believe i made myself suffer through 46 entire pages written by a venture capitalist who honestly believes the problem with silicon valley is that the companies are "mission driven" and not profit driven before i finally stopped trying to give it a chance。 。。。more
Isac Andersson
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Surprisingly insightful and touching， a must-read for anyone interested in the impact AI will have on the future of work， human and our society as a whole。
Bryn Smith
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Read this book if you want to understand the world of AI。 Kai-Fu Lee compares and contrasts the US and Chinese markets effectively， using personal experience from working in each market and published research。 He covers R&D， investment， implementation and the future。 It is a must-read for anyone who works in a tech field， regardless of their country。
Santiago Alvarez T
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Maybe the best book I've ever read。 Kai-Fu discusses many interesting things about AI， and as a real expert， explains them to you in a way you understand them easily。 Even though there are some bad things AI will bring to the world， Kai-Fu makes a lot of statements to calm us and have hope about our future （unlike Yuval Harari in Homo Deus， which stresses you about the horrible future that we will embrace with machines）。 This book is for everyone， and I would say it is a must read for the young Maybe the best book I've ever read。 Kai-Fu discusses many interesting things about AI， and as a real expert， explains them to you in a way you understand them easily。 Even though there are some bad things AI will bring to the world， Kai-Fu makes a lot of statements to calm us and have hope about our future （unlike Yuval Harari in Homo Deus， which stresses you about the horrible future that we will embrace with machines）。 This book is for everyone， and I would say it is a must read for the young generations。 。。。more
Sean
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The summary of the book is pretty much in the title。 It provides the current landscape of AI field。 With the most important points being how AI is the 4th Industrial Revolution， where China and the US stand in the AI field respectively， what will happen as AI becomes more prevalent across industries and how we can learn to live in a world dominated by AI。I think the best part about the book was Kai-Fu Lee’s descriptions of the current scope of AI。 His knowledge in the field is truly on display h The summary of the book is pretty much in the title。 It provides the current landscape of AI field。 With the most important points being how AI is the 4th Industrial Revolution， where China and the US stand in the AI field respectively， what will happen as AI becomes more prevalent across industries and how we can learn to live in a world dominated by AI。I think the best part about the book was Kai-Fu Lee’s descriptions of the current scope of AI。 His knowledge in the field is truly on display here， providing an excellent analysis of the current and future situation of AI， especially in China。What irked me the most was how egoistic his writing was in certain cases。 I definitely can’t argue against him being a giant in the industry。 But if he’s such a giant in the industry， is it truly necessary to mention all your accomplishments？ Would Steve Jobs be bragging about himself in his book？ Maybe so。 I guess it’s important to mention the achievements he accomplished。 But， although I can give a pass to his accomplishments， I can’t help but be annoyed when he says things like thousands of students call him “teacher” and shit like that。 His passage on his experience with cancer was definitely touching， albeit a bit cheesy。 He tries to link his experience with that of how humanity and live with AI。 I find this link a bit forced。 It was quite a weird turn， with the book suddenly being obsessed with human emotions and love and shit。 I thought it was quite unfitting to be honest。 His solution to living with AI also wasn’t as satisfying as I wanted it to be。Overall， I feel like the book does an excellent job in giving the user an understanding about the current state of the field of AI as well as how its developments will affect our society。 I think him suddenly bringing in his autobiography was kind of random。 It was especially during this portion in which he started to repeat his points， making it frustrating to read。 But， the good parts were good and I respect that。 。。。more
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，
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Javier Panduro
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I came in looking for a book about AI， and it ended up having some life lessons。 I really recommend it。
Nguyen Le
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First few chapters are quite insightful。 The last few focus on conjecturing about the future。 However， it is too filled with the author's bias view First few chapters are quite insightful。 The last few focus on conjecturing about the future。 However， it is too filled with the author's bias view 。。。more
Nguyễn Quốc Nam
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