Nathan Gardels argues that China is gaining geopolitical influence by releasing open-weight AI models freely, while the US concentrates on proprietary closed models. He cites AI expert Andrew Ng’s observation that China leads in open-weight models, noting that Chinese alternatives like DeepSeek are being widely adopted across Africa and other regions partly due to US export controls. The piece contends this openness gives China outsized soft power, shaping global technology supply chains and how AI systems handle culturally sensitive questions.
