You’re right. We have to develop AI to protect ourselves from China and other nations. It’s not something we can choose to ignore. What we won’t be able to protect ourselves from are the social pathologies and oppression these systems will bring. I don’t think fallen mankind can keep a lid on this technology. We’re building the Beast it seems to me.
And how do you have any financial security and economic stability when AI systems are assaulting the banking system relentlessly with ever more power? It’s like fighting terrorism where failure even once is not an option.
For a few years after WW II, the USA was the only country in the world with nuclear weapons, instead of taking over other countries using our nuclear weapons to coerce other countries into submission, we rebuilt other countries and lowered our trade barriers allowing other devasted countries to rebuild their industries
Fast forward to today, if China was the only country in the world with advanced AI systems, do you think they would be so benevolent??
The only possible way to defend ourselves from advanced AI systems from other countries is have our own AI advanced systems, otherwise we are toast.
If anything, we should speed up our AI development and maintain our superiority by continuing to develop advanced AI systems.