China’s AI Push Reshapes Its Economic Future

Evan Osnos discusses China's practical AI deployment in factories and its expansion into emerging markets, contrasting it with the US focus on artificial general intelligence. He also highlights the payoff from China's long-term energy investments and the lingering drag from the property crash. The conversation touches on how both nations face similar concerns about public agency in the AI era. - China's AI push emphasizes rapid factory deployment and export to Africa, Central Asia, and Latin America rather than AGI. - The centrally planned system allowed China to go all-in on solar, nuclear, and other energy, making power cheaper. - Energy investments have paid off and now give China a structural advantage. - The post-2021 property crash left an overhang of vacant homes large enough to house Russia's population. - Beijing felt quieter and more orderly, partly due to electric vehicle adoption. - Leaders hope to reignite a sense of opportunity to overcome the property crisis. - Both US and China face a challenge in making citizens feel they have agency in the AI-driven future.