Note · 2026-06-05 17:57

“I asked some young Chinese researchers what they thought of AGI—artificial general intelligence. To my surprise, they gave exactly the same answer: ‘AGI means AI can replace me.’”

I noticed no anxiety in their responses. Rather than fearing replacement, they were curious whether machines could really surpass their creators. If that happened, they would happily go and do something else.

That stands in sharp contrast to many Western peers, who focus heavily on AI safety and its social consequences. Chinese researchers care about safety too: everyone agreed AI should not do harmful things. But most felt that deciding how to ensure that was the government’s job, and that the government should be able to solve it.