China and artificial intelligence: No power for nobody

It's always scary to think about how much power a handful of Silicon Valley tech bros have. They control large parts of the technology that has the potential to pose an existential threat to humanity. On the other side is the second AI world power: the People's Republic of China. President Xi Jinping is trying hard to present his country as the antithesis to the US tech industry's greed for profit. When Xi opened the World AI Conference in Shanghai in July, he spoke of wanting to further develop artificial intelligence “for the benefit of humanity.” It's an offer to the world that sounds too good to be true.

Europeans in particular should not allow themselves to be blinded by such airy rhetoric. Beijing's AI business model actually focuses less on economic returns. The state leadership is all the more concerned about political control. In this respect, it would be like an Orwellian dystopia if Chinese AI developers asserted themselves worldwide. In all subject areas that Beijing considers sensitive, DeepSeek, Moonshot AI and Co are not committed to the truth, but to the party's “socialist values”. This means political control over what information is actually permitted.

In an ideal world, the European Union would have to create a third AI alternative and also rush forward with an ethical set of rules. But given Europe's current technological backwardness, such a scenario seems downright utopian. But South Korea is actually trying to present itself as a third AI power: a democratic state that has a powerful chip industry and a lot of soft power. Perhaps this would be an approach that could break the US-China dichotomy in the medium term.

The taz is an independent, left-wing and opinionated daily newspaper. We have been arguing in our comments, essays and debate texts since the taz was founded in 1979. We often cannot and do not want to agree on an opinion. That's why you'll find some completely opposing positions here - all part of the very broad left-wing spectrum of opinions.

Because even if it is by no means desirable for a handful of tech bros to amass an alarming amount of power, the alternative cannot be to simply hand over this power to a party state.