What happens when the power to shape AI’s future lies not in the smartest model—but in who controls the compute?
This week, I spoke with
, researcher at RAND and advisor to Epoch AI, to unpack the geopolitics of compute: why sheer model capability is no longer the only game in town, and how control over compute may define who leads in AI.We discussed:
Why China matching US models doesn’t mean it’s winning the AI race.
The staggering scale of infrastructure: 100,000+ GPUs, billions in hardware, and spiralling test-time compute demands.
Why algorithmic efficiency is slashing costs and redrawing the frontier faster than expected.
The economic and national security tension between AI deployment and control.
The risks of over-concentration and the rise of sovereign compute strategies from Europe to the UAE.
What open-source models on abundant compute might mean for future power dynamics.
From token floods to trillion-dollar CapEx, we explored the delicate architecture of power in the age of AI. Enjoy!
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