Elon Musk has suggested AI could make most jobs optional within 10 to 20 years. George Yeo, Singapore’s former foreign minister, looks at AI through a wider historical lens. In this conversation with ThinkChina, he argues that the United States and China are running two different AI races, and that America may be measuring the wrong one.
A new league table
Yeo sees AI as the latest technology to reshuffle the global league table of nations. Five hundred years ago, modern science let the West race past China and India, and a technological shift of similar scale is under way now.
Frontier and application
The United States, Yeo argues, still leads in frontier research, the effort to build the most powerful models. China, he says, is “much more formidable” at application: spreading AI across its whole economy, from factories to logistics to public services. America chases a winner-takes-all gold medal. China builds broad, everyday use.
The Magnificent Seven question
Yeo’s sharpest point concerns markets. Once Chinese developers released their large language models as open source, he finds it hard to see how the Magnificent Seven, America’s largest technology companies, can justify their valuations. If those valuations prove to be a bubble, he warns, the consequences will reach far beyond the United States.
Why it matters for Asia
Across Asia, governments and businesses are choosing which AI models to build on. Open-source Chinese models offer low-cost tools that companies can adapt freely, while American systems lead at the frontier. Those choices will shape the region’s technology standards and supply chains for years. A correction in US tech stocks would also hit Asian markets and pension funds heavily invested in them.
Which race will matter more: the race to build the most powerful AI, or the race to put AI to work? Watch the full conversation and judge for yourself.
Further reading
Source: ThinkChina Conversations (SPH Media). Interview by Chow Yian Ping.
