Aug 21, 2026 · 1 hr · 15 segments
In this episode, Margaret Woolley Busse discusses the regulatory environment for artificial intelligence (AI) in the United States, with particular focus on its implications at the state and local…
Margaret Woolley BusseGuest
Adam SegalGuest
Irina A. FaskianosHost
So I'm gonna, I think, make some broad generalizations about what we're seeing in China and the United States, the two main competitors in this space.
And we are, uh, very clearly seeing the emergence of two separate tech stacks, so how both countries build the technologies that are gonna, uh, power, uh, artificial intelligence, but also, uh, different types of markets and how the markets respond to and invest in AI, uh, opportunities.
Um, we see the Chinese, um, focusing a lot on indigenous innovation and self-reliance.
Uh, the... last week, the Communist Party met, and they, uh, leaked, uh, uh, some of the ideas that are gonna show up in the next five, five-year plan, which will, uh, guide China from twenty twenty-six to twenty thirty.
Uh, there's a lot of focus, uh, on self-reliance on... and using AI in a range of, uh, industries and in the military.
But one of the big differences is that the debate in the US is, um, very much focused on, uh, AGI, artificial general intelligence, and the race for super intelligence.
The Chinese seem much less interested in that and are much more focused on, uh, actual applications, industrial applications and, uh, and, and, uh, how they're gonna u- uh, diffuse it, uh, quickly into their economy.
Forty percent of, uh, Chinese VC investment is in manufacturing, uh, and the applications of AI, uh, about three percent of US, uh, VC investment is.
You saw very prominent, um, uh, proponents of AI, like Eric Schmidt, uh, writing op-eds saying we've been overly focused on artificial intelligence.
We need to think more about how we adapt it and diffuse it, 'cause diffusion, uh, is really the, the, um, key to, to winning this battle.
Um, c- uh, and the, the numbers are, when you look across the, um, both societies, are pretty similar.
Um, about eighty-five percent of professionals in China say they've used generative AI, uh, in their daily work.
About sixty-five percent of A- American professionals, uh, you know, not that far off.
Um, fifty percent of large firms, uh, in China are using AI in some way or shape or another, about a third in the US according to this one survey.
But all along the, uh, technology stack, the US still has significant leads along chips, language models, uh, power, uh, compute, and, uh, energy may be the one place where China, uh, has the really clear advantage.
I'll stop, um, with just one final thought about, um, our roles in, in the world.
Um, and, uh, the president and the vice president in particular have talked a lot about AI dominance, um, and having other countries, um, use American, uh, AI and American chips in everything.
Um, my, my concern, um, is that we may be, um, recreating the 5G story, so the, the fifth generation of telecommunications story, which is, um, where China, uh, actually was the supplier for most of the developing world, uh, because Chinese product was cheaper, um, about a third cheaper than, uh, Nokia and Ericsson and, uh, Samsung, uh, and Chinese firms were on the ground.
Um, and so Chinese AI models way-- while they may not be as good as the US models, uh, are open, uh, weight, they're more adaptable, and they've been cheaper so far.
So I'm gonna, I think, make some broad generalizations about what we're seeing in China and the United States, the two main competitors in this space.
And we are, uh, very clearly seeing the emergence of two separate tech stacks, so how both countries build the technologies that are gonna, uh, power, uh, artificial intelligence, but also, uh, different types of markets and how the markets respond to and invest in AI, uh, opportunities.
Um, we see the Chinese, um, focusing a lot on indigenous innovation and self-reliance.
Uh, the... last week, the Communist Party met, and they, uh, leaked, uh, uh, some of the ideas that are gonna show up in the next five, five-year plan, which will, uh, guide China from twenty twenty-six to twenty thirty.
Uh, there's a lot of focus, uh, on self-reliance on... and using AI in a range of, uh, industries and in the military.
But one of the big differences is that the debate in the US is, um, very much focused on, uh, AGI, artificial general intelligence, and the race for super intelligence.
The Chinese seem much less interested in that and are much more focused on, uh, actual applications, industrial applications and, uh, and, and, uh, how they're gonna u- uh, diffuse it, uh, quickly into their economy.
Forty percent of, uh, Chinese VC investment is in manufacturing, uh, and the applications of AI, uh, about three percent of US, uh, VC investment is.
You saw very prominent, um, uh, proponents of AI, like Eric Schmidt, uh, writing op-eds saying we've been overly focused on artificial intelligence.
We need to think more about how we adapt it and diffuse it, 'cause diffusion, uh, is really the, the, um, key to, to winning this battle.
Um, c- uh, and the, the numbers are, when you look across the, um, both societies, are pretty similar.
Um, about eighty-five percent of professionals in China say they've used generative AI, uh, in their daily work.
About sixty-five percent of A- American professionals, uh, you know, not that far off.
Um, fifty percent of large firms, uh, in China are using AI in some way or shape or another, about a third in the US according to this one survey.
But all along the, uh, technology stack, the US still has significant leads along chips, language models, uh, power, uh, compute, and, uh, energy may be the one place where China, uh, has the really clear advantage.
I'll stop, um, with just one final thought about, um, our roles in, in the world.
Um, and, uh, the president and the vice president in particular have talked a lot about AI dominance, um, and having other countries, um, use American, uh, AI and American chips in everything.
Um, my, my concern, um, is that we may be, um, recreating the 5G story, so the, the fifth generation of telecommunications story, which is, um, where China, uh, actually was the supplier for most of the developing world, uh, because Chinese product was cheaper, um, about a third cheaper than, uh, Nokia and Ericsson and, uh, Samsung, uh, and Chinese firms were on the ground.
Um, and so Chinese AI models way-- while they may not be as good as the US models, uh, are open, uh, weight, they're more adaptable, and they've been cheaper so far.
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