Nobody was caught more off guard by the DeepSeek moment than the AI Doomers.

They had been claiming:

— that the U.S. was years ahead in AI;

— that PRC leadership didn’t care much about AI;

— that China would prioritize stability over disruption; and

— that if the U.S. slowed down AI development, China would slow down too.

All of this turned out to be profoundly wrong. Now, ironically, many of the Doomers — who prior to DeepSeek had tried to ban American models now currently in use — are trying to rebrand as “China Hawks.” If they had their way, the U.S. would have already lost the AI race!