Winning the AI Race Doesn't Mean Beating China

The race for AI leadership between the United States and China is poised to define the 21st century. But what if success is not about outperforming an opponent, but about building technology that works better for everyone?

In this episode of Horizons, Austin Carson, Founder and CEO of the nonprofit SeedAI and a former congressional technology advisor, argues that America’s greatest advantage lies in the untapped brilliance of its people. From the halls of Congress to the infrastructure powering modern data centers, Carson outlines a vision for democratized AI development that serves real world community needs. He explores why stronger connections between policymakers and technologists matter and how public private partnerships can help unlock a new era of innovation, resilience and shared prosperity.

We can spend trillions building Artificial General Intelligence, but will it solve the problems that matter most? In this episode of Horizons, policy expert and SeedAI Founder and CEO Austin Carson explores why even the most powerful AI will fall short if it is not designed to serve real world needs.

Austin challenges the idea that AI progress should be driven by centralized, top down control. Instead, he argues that lasting leadership in the AI era will come from unlocking broad based innovation and empowering people across the country to shape how technology is built and applied. It is a timely perspective on what it truly means to lead and win in the future of AI.

The AI race between the United States and China is about more than technology. It is a contest for cultural influence and moral leadership that will shape how artificial intelligence impacts society for generations to come.

In this episode of Horizons, policy expert Austin Carson, Founder and CEO of the nonprofit SeedAI, explains why leadership will not be defined by the most ambitious or centralized projects, but by who ensures AI meaningfully improves the economic security and everyday lives of people. He argues that lasting global leadership depends on building a distributed innovation ecosystem that solves real world problems and empowers communities across the country.