When China laughs at America’s AI boom, the joke cuts both ways

Chinese social media is circulating parodies that use distinctive Communist Party officialese and historical references to critique the US AI sector. One spoof report, mimicking a US news agency, used phrases like "thoroughly study and grasp the important spirit" and adapted President Xi Jinping's housing dictum to "data centres are for computing, not speculation." It also proposed "three red lines" for AI companies, reminiscent of Beijing's property developer regulations.

The satire extends to Mao-era propaganda, with one parody poster condemning a "Great AI Bubble" and likening Trump's AI push to the disastrous Great Leap Forward. Commentator Cui Mao, for instance, rephrased a historical agricultural slogan to "The bolder the people, the greater the GPU output," referencing powerful computer chips. These comparisons, including "backyard model training" and "communes of 10,000 GPUs," evoke a history of "grandiose ambition and unrealistic targets" that brought suffering to people in China.

This Chinese mockery, while aimed at the US, highlights concerns about unchecked growth that may resonate with Americans. Following the recent midterms, US voters opposed data-centre development in 44 of 45 local ballot measures. Democrats are reportedly preparing legislation for tougher AI oversight and to protect consumers from electricity price increases linked to data centres, suggesting a shared underlying apprehension about rapid, unregulated AI expansion.