The canary in the AI coal mine

CAMBRIDGE — The artificial intelligence (AI) race between the United States and China is accelerating at a breathtaking pace. Time and again, the US has appeared to pull ahead, only to see China quickly close the gap. At the heart of this competition lie two contrasting visions of how AI should be developed and deployed. While US firms largely rely on proprietary technologies to maintain their competitive advantage, China has increasingly embraced open-source AI, making advanced models widely available to developers around the world. Different strategies notwithstanding, both countries are locked in an arms race which neither side is willing to slow. As speed becomes the overriding priority,