How America Wins the AI Race With Open Source

Speaking in Shanghai on July 17, Xi Jinping offered the world a vision of AI “for the positive, for good and for humanity.” He called for open source, openness, and sharing. He cautioned against stretching national security to cover the field. And he announced that over the next five years China will train 5,000 people from developing countries, build AI application cooperation centers with ASEAN, the Arab League, the African Union, CELAC, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and BRICS, and extend its MAZU meteorological warning system to 30 countries. The World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization now exists in Shanghai with 37 member states.This reasonable sounding offer is aimed squarely at the governments the United States most needs: countries that want AI capacity, local control, and a voice in setting the rules. For these governments sovereignty means control rather than independence, and a system they can operate locally is an easier sell than a remotely controlled API. Beijing pairs capable open weight models and inexpensive inference with training, institutions, and public goods, then wraps the package in the vocabulary of multilateralism and the United Nati...