AI and the Rise and Fall of Great Powers
ChinaTalk28 Aug 2024

AI and the Rise and Fall of Great Powers

Jeffrey Ding is a professor at George Washington University, leading US scholar on China’s AI, and the creator of the ChinAI Substack. In honor of the publication of his new book, Technology and the Rise of Great Powers, enjoy this interview with Jeff from the ChinaTalk archives. Jeff Ding argues in a 2023 paper that great powers must harness general-purpose technologies if they want to achieve global dominance. That is, diffusion capacity (not just innovation capacity) is critical to economic growth — and China actually fares much worse in diffusion capacity than mainstream narratives imply. In this show, we discuss the historical underpinnings of that argument and apply it to AI today — drawing out policymaking lessons spanning centuries of technologically driven great power transitions. We also get into: Why long-term productivity growth is driven by the diffusion of general-purpose technology, and what makes this so crucial for great power competition; Historical lessons from the UK, Soviet Union, US, and Germany illustrating the cultural and policy roadblocks to tech diffusion; The importance of decentralized systems, and how this helped America win the Cold War Why China’s diffusion capacity lags behind its innovation capacity, and how America should avoid getting locked into any one technological trajectory. Co-hosting is Teddy Collins, formerly of DeepMind and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Outro music: 分享那奇沃夫/Prodby玉的单曲《亚克西》(Youtube Link) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episoder(512)

China's Best Music of 2025 (So Far)

China's Best Music of 2025 (So Far)

Jake Newby, author of the China music substack Concrete Avalanche, presents his official playlist of China’s best new music. It includes ADHD-inspired hip hop, experimental ambient music from rural Ch...

7 Jul 20251h 1min

Wagner, Two Years On (Kamil on Coups and Power)

Wagner, Two Years On (Kamil on Coups and Power)

How does Russia prevent uprisings, and what can other authoritarians learn from Moscow’s methods of coup control? For the second anniversary of the Wagner uprising, ChinaTalk interviewed London-based...

2 Jul 202540min

Are We Cooked? Q2 Check In

Are We Cooked? Q2 Check In

Is America cooked? We check in on what clarity the past three months have given us on the long term dynamic between the US and China. Guests include: Peter Harrell, former Biden official who host...

29 Jun 202558min

Doug, Dylan and Jon on Lip-Bu, Labubu, AI Salaries, and Bees

Doug, Dylan and Jon on Lip-Bu, Labubu, AI Salaries, and Bees

Also, somehow, the Third Temple, twink human sacrifice for the AI labs, and the SemiAnalysis Desi Waifu 3000. Outtro Music (sounded like a let's get dylan a girlfriend prayer to me?) Finding Her, ...

26 Jun 202552min

Apple in China

Apple in China

Patrick McGee is the author of Apple in China: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company. Our discussion led us through a detailed history of Apple’s relationship with China, where iPhone manufactur...

24 Jun 20251h 10min

The House of Huawei

The House of Huawei

Eva Dou is the author of The House of Huawei, an excellent book covering the personal, economic, and geopolitical arc of Huawei, China’s most important company. We discuss… The life of Huawei’s ...

17 Jun 20251h 16min

Can Donors Save Science?

Can Donors Save Science?

Renaissance Philanthropy — in my opinion, the most exciting S&T philanthropic venture in the US — is getting a one-year check-in. Kumar Garg first appeared on the show right before I went on paternity...

12 Jun 20251h 17min

Josh Wolfe on Elon v. Trump, R&D,  Immigration

Josh Wolfe on Elon v. Trump, R&D, Immigration

Josh Wolfe of Lux Capital joins ChinaTalk to talk: Elon, Trump and the tech right The future of the R&D base and importance of immigrants Why short videos aren't terrible after all? Phila...

7 Jun 20251h 13min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
popradet
forklart
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-gukild-johaug
det-store-bildet
rss-ness
nokon-ma-ga
hanna-de-heldige
fotballpodden-2
aftenbla-bla
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-utenrikskomiteen-med-bogen-og-grasvik
e24-podden
bt-dokumentar-2