China isn't chasing superintelligence, and that may prove wise

The US and China are battling to be first with the most advanced artificial intelligence (computer programs that can solve tasks that normally require human thinking). But the two countries' approaches are nothing alike.

US companies like OpenAI and Google are chasing what's called superintelligence or AGI: an AI that can match or surpass humans at virtually every conceivable task. That requires enormous amounts of computing power and investments in the billions.

China has instead settled on a more down-to-earth strategy. Here, it's about putting AI to work here and now in factories, agriculture and businesses, and about making the technology cheap and accessible to as many people as possible.

Open models gain ground

This can be seen in the fact that Chinese companies like Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu release their AI models extensively as so-called open source. This means the code and recipe behind the model are free and open, so other companies and developers around the world can use and adapt it without paying expensive licenses to US tech giants.

The strategy appears to be working. According to several international media outlets, Alibaba's AI model Qwen recently passed 3 billion downloads, overtaking both Meta's and Google's open models. According to analyses, Chinese AI today accounts for about 30 percent of the AI apps used globally, especially in developing countries, where cheap and easily accessible technology matters more than the very newest and most expensive model.

China also has another advantage: cheap electricity. In several places, local authorities give discounts on power bills to companies that use a lot of energy training and running AI models, something that is significantly more expensive in the US.

According to experts quoted in Danish media, the Chinese models are still some way behind the best US ones in raw computing power, perhaps by up to six months. But if price and availability weigh more heavily for companies than the last few percent of performance improvement, the Chinese model may be the one that wins adoption in practice.

What it means for Danish companies

For Danish companies and employees, this means that more of the free or cheap AI tools you encounter going forward, in everything from customer service to office software, may be built on Chinese technology. It also raises questions about data security and dependence on foreign technology, which experts urge companies to consider before adopting the tools.