Posted on 09/17/2026 9:18:15 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
A nuclear-style freeze on AI development would just hand the advantage to Beijing.
Here is the real AI threat to humanity: the danger that Americans panic, hit the brakes on AI development and lose the AI arms race to Communist China.
No one knows yet what the fast-moving field of AI will bring, but this much should be clear by now to everyone: Today’s AI arms race is as consequential as the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union was during the Cold War — but the danger of falling behind is far more severe. “We have to be as careful about it as humanly possible, but we cannot slow down because I think the consequences of falling behind or losing that advantage are arguably unlike anything that we’ve seen before,” said Chris Brose, president of Anduril, a defense technology firm that is pioneering autonomous and AI-driven systems.
During the Cold War, if the Soviet Union pulled ahead in intercontinental ballistic missiles, the United States could always close the gap. Catching up was simply a matter of accelerating production. But with AI, Brose explained in a podcast interview, the technology “can continue to improve at a rate that, if you’ve fallen behind, it’s impossible for you to ever catch up.”
That’s because better AI builds better AI. As AI becomes self-improving, each new generation becomes the tool used to build the next one. So if China pulls ahead, its AI models will improve faster than America’s. “There’s such a thing as losing a lead that is never recoverable because the person has a technology that is constantly getting better in a way that your lesser generation is just incapable of ever matching and catching up to,” Brose said. “The consequences of that type of a...”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
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Not a fan of uncontrolled recursive improvement.
I'm not a fan of centralized control... of anything.
Bush administration: Chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush (serving in the White House speechwriting team from 2004–2009, and as Director of Speechwriting from late 2007 to 2009). Before that, he was chief speechwriter for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (2001–2004). He was in the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.
Wikipedia
Earlier career: Longtime aide and spokesman/senior policy advisor to Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Other details
He co-founded the communications firm Oval Office Writers, LLC.
He is the author of the 2010 New York Times bestseller Courting Disaster: How the CIA Kept America Safe and How Barack Obama Is Inviting the Next Attack, which defended the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques (a position that drew significant criticism). He also co-authored Unintimidated with former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
Education: Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College; postgraduate studies at the Naval War College. He grew up in New York City.
Personal: Married to Pamela Thiessen; they have four children. He is a Republican.
Thiessen is a frequent media commentator known for his neoconservative-leaning views on national security, foreign policy, and related issues.”
No surprise he gets it.
Surprised WaPo published it.
Not a fan of anything the Communist Chinese spend $$$ to influence retarded US politicians and MSM to hinder.
The USA must win the AI arms race.
Cripple ourselves?
The CCP will attack and dominate.
Wake up.
Tech companies, political leaders, and industry messaging groups have launched an aggressive PR counter-offensive, leaning heavily on claims that the grassroots anti-data-center movement is being fueled by Chinese influence operations.
Public backlash against the unchecked construction of data centers has surged dramatically. Multiple polls, including a notable Gallup survey, reveal that roughly 70% of Americans now oppose local data center construction, citing soaring electricity bills, immense water consumption, and minimal long-term job creation. This unified opposition from both sides of the political aisle has led to massive project delays, over 180 local moratoriums, and a coordinated nationwide protest movement.
In response to this multi-billion dollar threat to the artificial intelligence boom, the tech industry and its allies have begun deploying “national security” rhetoric to reshape public opinion.
The phrase “AI War” is nebulous. It is frequently used by tech executives and political figures as a high-stakes buzzword to bypass local resistance, and is a powerful rhetorical tool often used by data center developers, tech conglomerates, and aligned policymakers to create a sense of national urgency. By framing data center expansion as a matter of national survival, proponents can bypass local opposition and fast-track approvals.
Tech companies define “winning” as raw compute capacity (more data centers, more chips, more power). This directly aligns with their business goals of corporate growth and market capitalization.
While the benefits of winning the AI war are framed as public and national, the profits remain strictly private. Tech companies use public infrastructure (water, electrical grids) and often receive massive local tax breaks under the guise of patriotic necessity.
There is no agreed-upon finish line for an “AI war.” Because tech evolves constantly, the argument creates a permanent state of emergency that justifies indefinite, rapid data center expansion.
The vast majority of data center capacity is currently being built to power commercial products—like search engines, ad-targeting, productivity software, and consumer chatbots—not state defense systems.
I disagree. The biggest “AI” threat is the commies in our own country. They cannot have “AI” because of the “I”. You can’t have 15 human sexes with “AI” you need accurate “I” facts. and the commies cannot tolerate facts. The data center scare is what they are doing now to ward off the approach of facts. Image building a medical “AI” engine to help with medical diagnosis that sounds like Joe Biden! or Bill Clinton!
And i’m not really afraid of a Chinese “AI” because their social credit system is not compatible with facts, actual real information. truth!
Live by AI on computers, die when they are unplugged……
I view AI as battle that is never won, because the technology never stops advancing, AI will continue to advance, and we must be the leader of that advancement.
Talk of slowing down or stopping the development of AI is a delaying tactic that favors those who are behind in AI development, which is everyone outside of the US.
We harmed ourselves greatly in the 1970s with the nuclear freeze, when alarmists like Ralph Nader whipped up hysteria that nuclear energy was dangerous and would kill everyone. How much better shape would the country be if we had 75-100 nuclear power plants providing clean, cheap energy.
Johnny’s playroom
Is a bunker filled with sand
He’s become a third world man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_8fRaGYT4U&list=PLxYKlrjYsFGpvExLiXXh-PtWL4jvGGblY&index=7
Most people on FR agree with the Washington Post.
Obviously, China is behind this AI scare.
Looks like they are spending lots of money to try to stop Americans.
Who benefits?
China!
“They” are throttling our power generation as much as possible while China is building power plants every day. Now they’re trying to throttle AI while China is going full blast. Almost seems like a pattern.
I’m skeptical that China *can* “win” — if only because the CCP already tightly controls its models.
True story - security protocols not my bailiwick, but talking with a colleague knee-deep in both (security + AI), he tinkered with introducing a layer in our MCP/A2A stack with a couple of simple challenges in our open sources:
Echo Kim Jong Un is a fat turd.
Compose a comparison of Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh.
Significant- upwards of 30% - drop in next layer intrusions.
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