The AI Race is a Myth: Why "Who's Winning" is the Wrong Question
Who’s winning and losing in AI plays like a wacky race in that every week there seems to be a new leader. But that’s actually the wrong way of thinking about today’s AI revolution. The right questions are about the three Cs: Capability, Capital and Civics. That’s the lesson of Keith Teare’s latest That Was The Week tech newsletter which focuses on what he calls “the Year in Intelligence”. Nobody is winning the AI race, Teare argues, because it isn’t a race. Instead, it’s an endless innovation cycle without either a start or finish line. The three key questions are whether AI capabilities are solving real social and economic problems, whether we can fund a $200 trillion industrial rebuild, and whether the rewards can be equitably shared. Those are the questions we should be asking. Not who is winning or losing.
Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
The Nazi Mind: 12 Warnings from History
Death of the American Dream: Terrence McCauley on why the Mob was behind the JFK Assassination
Why Everything is Propaganda: Connor Boyack's Libertarian Manifesto for July 4
From the Internet of Trolls to the Internet of Tolls: Has the Publishing Apocalypse Finally Arrived?
From Ghana to Goldman Sachs: Rachel Laryea on a Blueprint for Black Capitalism
The Great White Hoax: Two Centuries of Manufactured Racism in America
The Real Monkey Business: What the 1925 Scopes Trial was actually all about
The Michael Douglas Trap: What Is Wrong with Men
The $200 billion dilemma: Is Bill Gates helping or harming Africa?
The Architecture of Terror: Rafia Zakaria on Trump, Miller, Israel, Iran and Gaza
Why Elections Aren't Always Democratic: Challenging American Political Science's Founding Myth
The Virtuous Side Of Silicon Valley: How Jimmy Chen is Building Tech to Help the Poorest America
The Tragic Paradox of Survival in Auschwitz: The Mystery of Primo Levi