Conor here: It’s intriguing how discussions about competition with China have yet to translate into advancements like high-speed rail systems in the United States.
The Chinese high-speed railway system is the real 8th Wonder of the World. https://t.co/53vBZ8ZnIk pic.twitter.com/Q9ixsXyxV6
— JR Urbane Network (@JRUrbaneNetwork) July 12, 2026
By Mitch Jones, managing director of policy and litigation at Food & Water Watch. Originally published on Common Dreams.
In the current landscape where Big Tech scrambles to construct energy-intensive data centers for their artificial intelligence initiatives, the narrative of an “AI race” between the United States and China has gained traction. Political analysts, legislators, and media outlets have all collaborated with tech giants to propagate this idea. Unfortunately, it grants these corporations and their political allies a free pass to exploit our communities, surveil our actions, and capitalize on the collective knowledge of humanity.
However, the notion of a competitive AI race between China and the United States lacks a solid foundation. The entities behind AI innovation in both countries are aiming for distinctly different objectives.
The prevailing conversation in the United States posits that achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI)—artificial systems that replicate human thought—would be a monumental leap forward, and therefore, it must be the ultimate goal for all AI developers. Yet, this is not the primary focus of AI development in China. If both sides are sprinting toward different goals, how can this truly be considered a race?
Allowing the myth of an AI race to serve as justification for Big Tech’s agenda risks leaving us with a more polluted, unequal world.
A Race Doesn’t Have Two Different Finish Lines
While the US concentrates on artificial general intelligence (AGI) fueled by Large Language Models (LLMs), China’s developers are prioritizing AI integrated into tangible products. It’s a face-off between ChatGPT and robotics.
China is indeed making strides in LLM technology, though largely in an open-source framework rather than the profit-driven model prevalent in the US. Recent reports indicate that China is “catching up” to the US in LLM development. In fact, some of China’s latest models surpass leading American counterparts. Still, this does not point to an AGI-LLM race but rather illustrates China’s capacity to develop competitive models without prioritizing AGI.
Furthermore, LLM advancement in China is merely an offshoot of the country’s primary goal for AI: products that incorporate artificial intelligence and robotics. As AI policy researcher Liang Zheng notes, in China, “The first priority is to use it to benefit ordinary people” (though the validity of this claim is debatable, it reveals the type of AI they aim for).
In contrast, the US prioritizes profiting from exploitation, leading to a continual focus on chatbots.
This is not to suggest that China’s approach is inherently superior while the US approach is flawed. Each trajectory ultimately fosters an environment of disempowerment for citizens, making work scarcer and less rewarding for the majority. Meanwhile, a small elite continues to accumulate wealth and influence.
Arguments in support of the detrimental expansion of hyperscale data centers stem from a misconception. There is no necessity to “outperform China.” The two nations are on different paths, competing in disparate spheres, each with its distinct objectives.
The contrast between these approaches also accounts for the staggering scale of the data center crisis we currently face. The colossal hyperscale data centers—some new proposals could require up to 5 gigawatts, which could power about 3.75 million US homes—are only deemed “necessary” because the United States is fixated on achieving AGI. Meanwhile, the AI applications in China do not demand the same level of computational resources.
The reality is that we do not require hyperscale data centers to “outpace China.” We aren’t racing China at all. We are endangering our own wellbeing so Silicon Valley can compete with itself.
How Big Tech Is Weaponizing the “AI Race” to Build Data Centers
If every environmental review, community concern, and inquiry regarding water consumption and electricity costs can be downplayed as “helping China,” genuine political discourse can be stifled. The possibility of meaningful regulation—which might be feasible—can be sidestepped. Fear becomes a substitute for policy.
Simultaneously, data center developers and their associates in Washington have attempted to undermine the grassroots opposition to data centers by falsely claiming foreign funding. Kevin O’Leary, of Shark Tank fame, has gone so far as to assert that our movement is funded by China—without any substantiating evidence, as proof of a falsehood is inherently unobtainable. Indeed, Fox News has been compelled to retract coverage of these allegations.
It’s understandable why O’Leary and other tech moguls fail to perceive the grassroots support opposing the proliferation of data centers across the nation. Recognizing grassroots sentiments is challenging from the vantage point of a private jet. Yet, this opposition is palpable and authentic, and no amount of misinformation or the alarmist rhetoric surrounding the “AI race against China” will deter our movement.
Big Tech Is Selling Us a Dystopian Future
The fallacy of an AI race with China threatens to usher us into a future shaped by Big Tech—one that is more unequal than ever. Yes, while tech leaders claim their algorithms will cure cancer, their true aim has consistently been to consolidate power and wealth at the expense of the public.
Even as American tech giants have distanced themselves from earlier predictions of extensive job losses, their envisioned future effectively sidelines the majority from meaningful employment. Most people will find themselves relying on meager stipends designed to placate them.
In the meantime, our movements will be tracked, whether or not we engage with the electronic devices they market. There’s a rising tide of surveillance technology linked to AI capable of identifying our faces, recording our license plates, and monitoring our movements—data that can be purchased by corporations and government entities.
Moreover, surveillance pricing enables corporations to adjust their prices virtually instantaneously, exploiting our needs for their gain. Additionally, deepfakes have already contributed to the erosion of trust in a commonly shared reality and the fundamental facts essential for a functioning democracy. And this merely scratches the surface.
Even if there were an AI race, is it worthwhile to participate, let alone emerge victorious, if the reward is a bleak future characterized by widespread suffering with a select few super-rich tech magnates at the apex?
Big Tech’s Dystopian Vision Isn’t Inevitable
However, let’s be clear: this dystopian future is not the unavoidable outcome of unstoppable technological “progress” as the Tech elite would have us believe. Every decision made regarding AI advancement is a political choice, and we still possess the power to shape our political landscape.
Across the nation, a growing movement is resisting the nightmare being forced upon us. Communities are uniting to combat the proliferation of damaging hyperscale data centers. As of 2026, over $130 billion worth of proposed data center projects have been blocked or canceled.
Communities are seizing control of their destinies by imposing moratoriums on new data centers. New York has enacted a one-year pause on additional centers, and support for a nationwide halt in Congress is growing.
We are not fated to exist within Elon Musk’s dystopian dream. We have the agency to curtail him and his fellow oligarchs. When we mobilize, we achieve victories. That is the true “AI Race.” It’s not a face-off between China and the US, but rather an effort against Big Tech. This is a race worth engaging in—and one that we must win.
