I wonder if ordinary Chinese people don’t have the opposite attitude compared to Americans, while early AGIs themselves might agree that building stronger superintelligence in haste is a bad idea. A framing that divides a broad coalition of potential developers of superintelligence could be counterproductive.
Yes, apparently Chinese people (and Asians in general, with the exception of Japan) are far less concerned… I didn’t know about this at all. In this 2024 Ipsos poll, 80% agree that they’re excited about products and services that use AI, while 15% disagree (compared with 34%/55% in the US). 62% think that AI will make their job better. (The 2025 Ipsos poll doesn’t include China for some reason.) Chinese elite students also overwhelmingly see positive effects.
It’s a great point about “dividing a broad coalition” (including early AGIs). But, if one thinks that caution/worry about AI is justified or a good thing, then maybe it would be helpful to lower sentiment in Asia. Views can be changed with evidence, although I don’t know enough about Chinese culture to have any idea why they’re so positive on AI. (Wild guess would be a clear path to material wealth through it and its complements? Or better diffusion and salient mundane utility?)
The right framing is definitely not “AI bad”. This would divide, even within the Anglosphere, as Hruss notes. I don’t know what the right framing is — maybe “AI takes jobs” or “AI dangerous” or “AI powerful therefore scary”.
I wonder if ordinary Chinese people don’t have the opposite attitude compared to Americans, while early AGIs themselves might agree that building stronger superintelligence in haste is a bad idea. A framing that divides a broad coalition of potential developers of superintelligence could be counterproductive.
Yes, apparently Chinese people (and Asians in general, with the exception of Japan) are far less concerned… I didn’t know about this at all. In this 2024 Ipsos poll, 80% agree that they’re excited about products and services that use AI, while 15% disagree (compared with 34%/55% in the US). 62% think that AI will make their job better. (The 2025 Ipsos poll doesn’t include China for some reason.) Chinese elite students also overwhelmingly see positive effects.
It’s a great point about “dividing a broad coalition” (including early AGIs). But, if one thinks that caution/worry about AI is justified or a good thing, then maybe it would be helpful to lower sentiment in Asia. Views can be changed with evidence, although I don’t know enough about Chinese culture to have any idea why they’re so positive on AI. (Wild guess would be a clear path to material wealth through it and its complements? Or better diffusion and salient mundane utility?)
The right framing is definitely not “AI bad”. This would divide, even within the Anglosphere, as Hruss notes. I don’t know what the right framing is — maybe “AI takes jobs” or “AI dangerous” or “AI powerful therefore scary”.