The New Yorker: There is no AI "race" — first to invent rarely wins
jjding99 · x · 2026-09-25
Chang Che's New Yorker essay dissects the "But China" argument used to resist pausing or slowing AI development and regulation.
The piece draws on history: Britain's Parsons invented the steam turbine in 1884 and Faraday founded electrical science, yet within decades the U.S. built over a thousand central stations and by 1912 produced five times more electricity per person. Diffusion — how technology burrows into societies and organizations — determines the winner, not who invents first. The essay argues the self-improving-AI premise slips into sci-fi absurdity (killer robots, supersoldiers) while ignoring diffusion realities: the AI "race" is a marathon, not a sprint.
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