On circles, misconceptions, deep infrastructure, founder archetypes, state's role, memes, AGI. A conversation about the topology of China’s AI world for you.
Thanks for writing the post. It was very useful. I am a retired American economist now living in Yunnan province. I don’t know any Silicon Valley billionaires personally so I can’t speak to their personal humility—though I have doubts about that. But, I do think they have reshaped much of American society and think they should be the ones to make those widely impactful decisions. I also think they believe they have “earned” their positions, when much of their wealth is based on monopolistic positioning and guanxi with government and finance. [Spell check changed guanxi to guano—seems appropriate.]
thanks 4 writing this! I found the chinese tech sector / philosophy so interesting and under talked about in the US, we also need to look to learn from some of their views or underlying cultural values, say how AGI shouldn't a religious fever but more a question of economic value.
Will you say more about this!! "Chinese entrepreneurs' reluctance to become sources of knowledge production. Silicon Valley abounds with philosopher kings writing books and outputting ideas. Chinese entrepreneurs largely choose silence or rely on ghostwriters. This creates external misunderstandings—America remains the knowledge exporter while China over-imports and under-exports"
minor correction; section probably repeated during editing: "Afra: I've learned from a previous conversation that I wrote about that top AI companies like DeepSeek seem directly overseen by ministries and commissions— ..."
Most of these pattern of us/cn differences seem not really new, you see them since social/moible era, strengthened with EV, now AI. It almost felt like the China trajectory doesn't change much, just the Americans' own identity crisis / interest realignment / political landscape restructuring are driving the dynamics.
Love the deep dive into the cogworks of China's tech scene and the government's nuanced role within it—a refreshing perspective that's been missing from most Western coverage. It reads like a valuable "double-click" on themes from Dan Wang's "Breakneck," with that same spirit of covering China "with neither fear nor favor". Looking forward to more explorations that bridge the cognitive chasm between these two tech worlds.
This is the first time I have heard the adjective "humility" to describe Silicon Valley leaders
hi david! thanks for reading my post. what do you mean by that?
Thanks for writing the post. It was very useful. I am a retired American economist now living in Yunnan province. I don’t know any Silicon Valley billionaires personally so I can’t speak to their personal humility—though I have doubts about that. But, I do think they have reshaped much of American society and think they should be the ones to make those widely impactful decisions. I also think they believe they have “earned” their positions, when much of their wealth is based on monopolistic positioning and guanxi with government and finance. [Spell check changed guanxi to guano—seems appropriate.]
thanks 4 writing this! I found the chinese tech sector / philosophy so interesting and under talked about in the US, we also need to look to learn from some of their views or underlying cultural values, say how AGI shouldn't a religious fever but more a question of economic value.
thanks for your thoughtful reply Amit!!! i’m glad you find the piece interesting. it means a lot
of course definitely looking forward to your future work. have a great night or day!
Thank you!
Thank YOU for reading it!!
Banger
lol thank you alex!
afra this was such a banger wow
🥹🥹🥹
Very cool article ; thanks
'Why Guangdong missed Liang Wenfeng' - hilarious and telling! Industrial Policy with Chinese characteristics.
Will you say more about this!! "Chinese entrepreneurs' reluctance to become sources of knowledge production. Silicon Valley abounds with philosopher kings writing books and outputting ideas. Chinese entrepreneurs largely choose silence or rely on ghostwriters. This creates external misunderstandings—America remains the knowledge exporter while China over-imports and under-exports"
Hi Katherine! Yes I am writing a piece about this
Great piece. Ends somewhat suddenly though.
minor correction; section probably repeated during editing: "Afra: I've learned from a previous conversation that I wrote about that top AI companies like DeepSeek seem directly overseen by ministries and commissions— ..."
ah! thanks for pointing it out Eddy!
fascinating piece.
Most of these pattern of us/cn differences seem not really new, you see them since social/moible era, strengthened with EV, now AI. It almost felt like the China trajectory doesn't change much, just the Americans' own identity crisis / interest realignment / political landscape restructuring are driving the dynamics.
Love the deep dive into the cogworks of China's tech scene and the government's nuanced role within it—a refreshing perspective that's been missing from most Western coverage. It reads like a valuable "double-click" on themes from Dan Wang's "Breakneck," with that same spirit of covering China "with neither fear nor favor". Looking forward to more explorations that bridge the cognitive chasm between these two tech worlds.