This century’s most important geopolitical battle may not be fought with nuclear power, but with machine learning. Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly taken the world by storm. U.S.-based models like Chat-GPT or Google Gemini are now a part of everyday life for many Americans. The essence of AI is to learn from us, meaning it learns through the conversations we have, the questions we ask, and the data we provide. AI will become a powerful tool over the next few years, so the competition to control it will be fierce.
While U.S.-based AI models currently lead in the market, this is being threatened by the rise in popular China based models like Baidu’s ERNIE X1 or DeepSeek R1. According to Reuters, these models are touted as being faster, more reliable, and cheaper than industry-leading models in the U.S. Easy accessibility, along with affordability, makes these models increasingly attractive, not just within China but across the globe. This growing influence could trigger a shift in the AI wars race, one that potentially threatens key democratic values like transparency, freedom of expression, and data privacy.
Mass media has always been seen as the “fourth estate”- a crucial pillar of democracy that serves as a watchdog. But as AI advances quickly, journalism, and the very concept of truth, face unprecedented challenges. Generative AI can produce convincing fake news, eerily accurate deepfakes, and bots that can manipulate algorithms. Misinformation is spread unknowingly, and disinformation can circulate so quickly that fact-checkers can’t keep up, making it hard for the public to know what’s real and who to trust. In this new era, the truth isn’t just debated; it’s programmable. This poses a direct threat to democratic discourse since an informed public is key to fair elections, policy-making, and social cohesion.
Although AI is a powerful tool that the U.S. should continue to invest in, staying ahead shouldn’t come at the expense of ethics. Rushing to be ahead of China in the AI arms race could lead to the erosion of consent and transparency, which is key to democratic nations. Continuing to rapidly develop AI without clear regulations could lead to unprecedented harm to human rights. Without ethical guardrails, the unchecked expansion of AI could lead to data misuse, the spread of disinformation, and surveillance overreach. To protect the integrity of democracy, AI advancement must be guided not just by power, but also by principle.
Winning the AI arms race is more than just getting ahead; it’s about the values we embed in these systems that will be shaping our future. Democratic nations are the protectors of the free world, meaning they must also be the protectors of transparency, accountability, and human rights in the age of artificial intelligence. The technologies we build today will influence how we communicate, govern, and even define truth tomorrow. AI has the potential to strengthen democracy, but only if we ensure it serves the people, not just influence. The question should not be who will win the race but instead what kind of world the winner will create.