While the U.S. celebrates its dominance in artificial-intelligence software, China is quietly winning the race that might end up mattering most—developing robots that wield AI in the physical world. The U.S. should be proud of its AI achievements. The world’s strongest AI companies—from giants like Google to startups like Cursor—are American. But we are nearing what Jensen Huang calls a “ChatGPT moment for general robotics.” Imagine not AI programs that can not only write software and streamline office administration but also operate production lines, extract minerals, even prepare food. They’ll be able to learn and improve themselves as they go. In 2015 the Chinese government released its Made in China 2025 strategy, highlighting robotics as a key area of national interest. Chinese companies have since leapfrogged the world in robot density per capita. China surpassed the U.S. in 2021, then Germany and Japan in 2023. Many Chinese companies now operate “dark factories,” staffed entirely by robots with no humans present.

Full commentary : Americans who want to compete have to spend more time with regulatory lawyers than engineers while Chinese government lays out the red carpet for its robotics startups.