AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order

by Kai-Fu Lee

FOLDING BEIJING: SCIENCE-FICTION VISIONS AND AI ECONOMICS When the clock strikes 6 a.m., the city devours itself. Densely packed buildings of concrete and steel bend at the hip and twist at their spines. External balconies and awnings are turned inward, creating smooth and tightly sealed exteriors. Skyscrapers break down into component parts, shuffling and consolidating into Rubik’s Cubes of industrial proportions. Inside those blocks are the residents of Beijing’s Third Space, the economic underclass that toils during the night hours and sleeps during the day. As the cityscape folds in on itself, a patchwork of squares on the earth’s surface begin their 180-degree rotation, flipping over to tuck these consolidated structures underground. When the other side of these squares turn skyward, they reveal a separate city. The first rays of dawn creep over the horizon as this new city emerges from its crouch. Tree-lined streets, vast public parks, and beautiful single-family homes begin to unfold, spreading outward until they have covered the surface entirely. The residents of First Space stir from their slumber, stretching their limbs and looking out on a world all their own. These are visions of Hao Jingfang, a Chinese science-fiction writer and economics researcher. Hao’s novelette “Folding Beijing” won the prestigious Hugo Award in 2016 for its arresting depiction of a city in which economic classes are separated into different worlds. In a futuristic Beijing, the city is di...