Do We Have An AI Gap?
Techstrong.ai, September 19,2025
When I read the recent Politico piece quoting Senator Dave McCormick's concerns about China's AI dominance, I had deja vu. Not because I've been following China's AI research papers (though I have), but because the rhetoric sounded eerily familiar. It reminded me of the Cold War and the infamous 'missile gap.'
Back then, the prevailing wisdom was that the Soviet Union had more missiles than the U.S., and therefore, we were at grave risk. The idea of a missile gap was trotted out to rally public opinion, justify massive defense budgets, and unify Americans around a common enemy. Later, historians and defense analysts questioned whether there was ever a meaningful gap at all. But by then, the money had been spent and the policies entrenched.
So, are we reliving history with AI? Are we truly behind China in the AI race, or is 'AI gap' just the 21st-century version of Cold War fear-mongering?