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A review by bentrevett
AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee
3.0
A very odd book that initially focuses on the difference between china and the US, specifically on the approaches to technology (aka AI because AI is the only technology worth caring about nowadays apparently); but later on goes into the author's weird techno utopian rantings and ravings.
Some comments on the first few chapters:
— China copies everything, but that's OK because they're just using that to play catch-up, and then they'll adapt what they've copied to the Chinese market and beat those pesky Americans! I mean, isn't it obvious that if you adapt a product to a market, then it'll be more successful there? How many Chinese apps have succeeded in the West?
— Apparently WeChat is the greatest piece of technology, China has ever invented. But WeChat is just WhatsApp with an app store built into it (not really innovative), which is great for WeChat, but is it good for a single company to have a monopoly on your data? Apparently, all Chinese citizens are just fine and dandy with their data being harvested.
— The author predicts that China will win the AI arms race because even though the West has better AI engineers, China has more of them. As we all know, simply throwing more and more people at a problem leads to solving it faster and better!!! This is apparently why China will be the first to have self-driving cars, just because there's more people. No wonder Tesla haven't solved it yet, they just need to hire 10x more computer vision researchers!!! Absolutely bonkers.
— Lee also appears to be completely blind to most downsides of AI. Having AI predict how long a criminal should be sentenced is something that is seen as having no issues at all; because the AI only “suggests” a sentence and any errors or bias can be blamed on the human judge making the final decision. We can also apparently check how well a student understands something by checking if they shake or nod their head or “look puzzled”; cue all students in China nodding along every lecture to trick the AI teacher into thinking them they understand.
— There's an absolutely bizarre dystopian vision of what an AI powered supermarket will be. Your trolley will berate you for not having enough fiber in your currently selected items (who doesn't want their trolley making sure they're not constipated?). It will also know your wife's birthday and goad you into buying the wine that she likes (presumably by also tracking her every purchase); we know you don't want your trolley to think you're a bad husband, do we? :) Lee thinks that being constantly pestered with deals by your trolley as you walk down the aisles is an absolutely great thing!
Near the end, there's a chapter where Lee talks about getting diagnosed with cancer and coming to the realization that actually, work is not really that important; what actually matters is spending time with your friends and family, and giving back to the world. At first, I thought this chapter was out of place (in a book supposedly about the AI arms race between China and the West); but it ended up being my favorite chapter because it reads like it wasn't written by someone held at gunpoint by a Chinese AI system who has his family captive.
Afterwards, it goes back to the weirdness, with chapters on how AI is going to fuck us all up and what we can do to try to prevent it. Examples:
— In fifteen years, 40-50% of the jobs in the US will be completely automated, but China is immune to this because they're so much more technologically literate than the West (because they can… use WeChat?)
— Sure, AI is going to make inequality massively increase, but we got TikTok so it's pretty much net positive overall?
— It's ok that workers will be displaced because we can give them online courses to become “lifelong learners”. In other words, these people will constantly be replaced by AI and will have to re-skill and be entry-level workers (on entry level wages) their entire lives. Sounds great for them!
— UBI is bad because it's being pushed by the Silicon Valley elite (???); the only reason they're pushing is because when masses to revolt against them when the world collapses they want to be able to turn around and say “Hey I'm not bad! I like UBI!” whilst they live in their giant techno mansions(????????). I don't agree with UBI, but this is the most bizarre attack on it that I've ever read in my entire life.
— What's the author's solution? There will be new jobs which machines can't do, like “season changer” (who will redecorate your wardrobe every few months, scenting it with flowers and aromas that match the mood of the season) and “home sustainability consultants” (who will meet with your family and explore creative and fun (???) ways for your household to reduce its environmental footprint). Sounds great, but those jobs are easier to automate or replace without even using anything sophisticated. They would exist now, except they don't because I don't think anyone wants either of those services.
— Oh, he also has a second solution: a “social investment stipend”. This is a “salary” (aka wage) given to people who “invest their time and energy” (aka work) in: care work, community service, and education (aka jobs). The author has just re-invented jobs. You know, those things which AI is going to take from us.
So yeah, even though I disagree with the vast majority of this book, I still enjoyed reading it. Partly because of how absurd it was, but also because I guess it's nice to read how the other half thinks.
Some comments on the first few chapters:
— China copies everything, but that's OK because they're just using that to play catch-up, and then they'll adapt what they've copied to the Chinese market and beat those pesky Americans! I mean, isn't it obvious that if you adapt a product to a market, then it'll be more successful there? How many Chinese apps have succeeded in the West?
— Apparently WeChat is the greatest piece of technology, China has ever invented. But WeChat is just WhatsApp with an app store built into it (not really innovative), which is great for WeChat, but is it good for a single company to have a monopoly on your data? Apparently, all Chinese citizens are just fine and dandy with their data being harvested.
— The author predicts that China will win the AI arms race because even though the West has better AI engineers, China has more of them. As we all know, simply throwing more and more people at a problem leads to solving it faster and better!!! This is apparently why China will be the first to have self-driving cars, just because there's more people. No wonder Tesla haven't solved it yet, they just need to hire 10x more computer vision researchers!!! Absolutely bonkers.
— Lee also appears to be completely blind to most downsides of AI. Having AI predict how long a criminal should be sentenced is something that is seen as having no issues at all; because the AI only “suggests” a sentence and any errors or bias can be blamed on the human judge making the final decision. We can also apparently check how well a student understands something by checking if they shake or nod their head or “look puzzled”; cue all students in China nodding along every lecture to trick the AI teacher into thinking them they understand.
— There's an absolutely bizarre dystopian vision of what an AI powered supermarket will be. Your trolley will berate you for not having enough fiber in your currently selected items (who doesn't want their trolley making sure they're not constipated?). It will also know your wife's birthday and goad you into buying the wine that she likes (presumably by also tracking her every purchase); we know you don't want your trolley to think you're a bad husband, do we? :) Lee thinks that being constantly pestered with deals by your trolley as you walk down the aisles is an absolutely great thing!
Near the end, there's a chapter where Lee talks about getting diagnosed with cancer and coming to the realization that actually, work is not really that important; what actually matters is spending time with your friends and family, and giving back to the world. At first, I thought this chapter was out of place (in a book supposedly about the AI arms race between China and the West); but it ended up being my favorite chapter because it reads like it wasn't written by someone held at gunpoint by a Chinese AI system who has his family captive.
Afterwards, it goes back to the weirdness, with chapters on how AI is going to fuck us all up and what we can do to try to prevent it. Examples:
— In fifteen years, 40-50% of the jobs in the US will be completely automated, but China is immune to this because they're so much more technologically literate than the West (because they can… use WeChat?)
— Sure, AI is going to make inequality massively increase, but we got TikTok so it's pretty much net positive overall?
— It's ok that workers will be displaced because we can give them online courses to become “lifelong learners”. In other words, these people will constantly be replaced by AI and will have to re-skill and be entry-level workers (on entry level wages) their entire lives. Sounds great for them!
— UBI is bad because it's being pushed by the Silicon Valley elite (???); the only reason they're pushing is because when masses to revolt against them when the world collapses they want to be able to turn around and say “Hey I'm not bad! I like UBI!” whilst they live in their giant techno mansions(????????). I don't agree with UBI, but this is the most bizarre attack on it that I've ever read in my entire life.
— What's the author's solution? There will be new jobs which machines can't do, like “season changer” (who will redecorate your wardrobe every few months, scenting it with flowers and aromas that match the mood of the season) and “home sustainability consultants” (who will meet with your family and explore creative and fun (???) ways for your household to reduce its environmental footprint). Sounds great, but those jobs are easier to automate or replace without even using anything sophisticated. They would exist now, except they don't because I don't think anyone wants either of those services.
— Oh, he also has a second solution: a “social investment stipend”. This is a “salary” (aka wage) given to people who “invest their time and energy” (aka work) in: care work, community service, and education (aka jobs). The author has just re-invented jobs. You know, those things which AI is going to take from us.
So yeah, even though I disagree with the vast majority of this book, I still enjoyed reading it. Partly because of how absurd it was, but also because I guess it's nice to read how the other half thinks.