China and the West can build a better world, together

In The Feeling of Power, a story by celebrated American science fiction author Isaac Asimov, humanity has forgotten how to conduct even the simplest mathematical equations. In a distant future, complex machines conduct all operations, as men and women watch bewildered.

Suddenly a man rediscovers pencil and paper arithmetic, empowering him to perform simple multiplications without relying on machine aid. Stunned by his new powers, he shares the discovery with Earth’s government. The military establishment quickly seizes on the new powers to build a more effective, human-run space fleet to replace artificial intelligence and defeat Earth’s enemy, planet Deneb.

Today we are still far from such levels of technological dependency. And yet, an increasing share of our lives is determined by algorithms, workers are threatened by automation and bossed around by apps, and armies worldwide are engaged in an artificial intelligence arms race.