53 pages • 1-hour read
AI Superpowers
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Essay Topics
This book was published in 2018, several years before the work of OpenAI and programs like ChatGPT and DALL-E became available to the public. How do Kai-Fu Lee’s predictions hold up in light of these developments? Does AI Superpowers account for the direction AI has taken in the present day?
Lee use analogies to help readers understand some of the complex concepts he describes in his book—for example, comparing the rise of AI to the Industrial Revolution, or comparing the Chinese tech industry to Silicon Valley. In what ways is this rhetorical strategy helpful? What are the disadvantages of this approach?
Explain the significance of science fiction as a motif in this book. Cite specific examples in your analysis.
Do you agree with Lee’s argument that AI is (or will be) a general purpose technology (GPT)? Why or why not?
Lee advises readers to identify their calling by “[picturing] your own grave and [imagining] what you want written on it” (192). What values underlie this advice? As Lee rethinks his own epitaph, how does this show his changing sense of what matters most in life?
Compare and contrast Chapter 2, “Copycats in the Colosseum” with Chapter 8, “A Blueprint for Human Coexistence with AI.” In these chapters, Lee celebrates human compassion and love as well as “dirty tactics” and “gladiatorial” entrepreneurship. How do these values interact with one another? Can they coexist logically? Can they coexist in practice?
Argue for or against Lee’s four-wave model of AI development. Address specific points made in the book; rebut or support them with original research.
What role does Lee’s national identity play in AI Superpowers?
Consider the “Yonghui Superstore” section of Chapter 5 (129-131). Lee states that the “core technologies” that would facilitate this vision already exist. Identify at least two of them. Explain the roles they would fill in this imaginary shopping experience and how they would serve these functions.
As a creative assignment, propose a speculative product or service powered by AI. Explain how it would work, what function it would serve, and who would use it. Which of the four types of AI Lee lays out (i.e., internet, business, perception, and autonomous) is it?
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