As China surges toward AI dominance, the West must ask: what kind of future should it be building?
By contrast, the British Government has pledged to Mainline AI into the public sector. There’s going to be a modest supercomputer in Edinburgh, and we are partnering with META, a company with colourful history in relation to safeguarding and ethics.
But we fall short on the fundamentals; data superiority, compute power, energy and talent.
Meanwhile, China is accelerating. A socialist state, unencumbered by the kinds of bureaucratic and legal constraints that slow Western democracy.
Data Superiority
In AI, data is king, and with a population of 1.4 billion China probably has access to more of it than any other nation on earth. Moreover, China is recognising the value of data. With the state encouraging companies to value their data as an asset on their balance sheet.
There are fewer restrictions on what the government collects and uses. GDPR style protections are not as strong. Surveillance is widespread and information flows with little to no resistance.
As a result, the Chinese government, and those working with the government, can train models on centralised, vast, rich and unfiltered data sets.
Compute & Energy
AI systems consume enormous quantities of energy. In the US alone, its expected AI could be responsible for between 8 and 12 percent of all energy consumption in the country by 2028. In all probablilty, powered by fossil fuels.
Meanwhile, china is preparing for this future, and is currently building 29 nuclear reactors, just under half of the reactors currently being built worldwide.
While Western governments debate decarbonisation targets and data centre expansion limits, China is laying the foundation to power its AI systems at scale.
While China’s ambitions have faced critical bottlenecks. Particularly its heavy reliance on U.S. chips, Nvidia has just lifted restrictions on exports to China and at the same time, the Chinese government is aiming for complete self reliance on chips within two years.
Talent & IP
According to Morgan Stanley. China accounts for 47% of the world’s top AI talent, and more than 50% of global AI patents. For some time, there has been exodus of academics to China. Their pipeline is strong, the academic output is prolific, and the state is deeply involved in directing research priorities.
It is worth noting that global AI development is deeply interdependent. With many foundational breakthroughs still coming from Western labs. But China increasingly contributes talent, open-source models and academic research.
But what if the race is the problem?
This is where the West needs to pause. Because the real question is not “can we win the AI race”. It’s what does winning look like.
If winning means unchecked surveillance, mass data extraction from every facet of our lives, algorithmic control, and energy-intensive models at any cost. Is that a future we want?
In their rush to compete, Western democracies risk abandoning the very values that they claim to protect. We risk copying china’s tactics in the name of the economy, or national security, while losing sight of the ethical foundations that should guide our technology.
Ethics as a strategy, Not An Obstacle
Instead of failing to match china on speed and scale, we should perhaps differentiate on trust, transparency and human dignity.
Currently, the west is not exactly ethically pure regarding its AI usage. In the UK, AI-powered tech such as facial recognition and the Met’s murder prediction tools are being trialled with little oversight or accountability.
The ethical high ground is not a given. It’s a choice, and one we still have time to make.
What this strategy could look like
- Developing AI aligned with democratic values
- Pioneering enforceable safety and transparency standards
- Regulating against misuse and overreach, both public and private
- Protecting privacy by default
- Prioritising data quality over sheer volume
This won’t be the fastest path, but it will mean producing technology that people can actually trust.
This kind of leadership may not dominate the scoreboard immediately, but it will shape the future and define our legacy.
