That's like asking why China is building nuclear and coal power plants when solar is so much cheaper. They are doing all of the above.

Let's assume for a second that the compromat story on Huang is true, how much would that have cost? It could be everywhere from 10k to 10m $, depending on how difficult it was to get access, but it would still be a rounding error for AI invest.

Chips aren't what maketh SI anyway. The US is ahead because of a trifecta of having the best (most) hardware, best data, and best talent. You might also throw in business culture. But the same way Google is leading from behind in the US AI eco system, China is behind the frontier on LLMs, but laying foundational work in robotics, multi-modal models and integrated factories that might prove a big advantage down the line.

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Danox 2 days ago | parent [-]

Best talent, doubtful keep holding that belief. Right up until 2050…

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arw0n a day ago | parent [-]

I'm in the EU myself, and while I do believe we (and China) have similar levels of taltent, there are two reasons why it seems to me like the US can extract more from them: 1. In the EU people aren't pushed to perform to the maximum and 2. In China they aren't rewarded for it. The US is pretty much the only place in the world where an IC researcher at a major lab can become a millionaire.

Everywhere else you have to become a founder or manager, and that's not a good path for many talented people.

	▲	Danox 16 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The writing is on the wall in the United States. The lack of real infrastructure usable by as many people possible currently being built is sorely lacking in comparison to China or Japan or Korea. Within the American borders, there used to be more of a can do attitude that does not exist at the same level as in the past, the attitude today is more in keeping with US steel, IBM, or Xerox…