AI and model‑centric production favor data, software, and distributed compute over large‑scale goods production. Countries optimized for catch‑up manufacturing (large factories, centralized supply chains, state industrial policy) will find their historical advantages eroded unless they build the cloud/data/model ecosystems that AI prizes.
— If true, this reframes geopolitics: industrial capacity alone no longer guarantees global primacy, shifting policy priorities for alliances, trade, and industrial policy.
Noah Smith
2026.11.07
100% relevant
Noah Smith’s argument that Xi’s 'make‑everything' manufacturing push is ill‑suited to an AI century and that China’s political system is poorly adapted to rapid technological reordering.
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