‘DATA DOMINANCE’: World’s youngest self-made billionaire in 2022 says US needs to ’embrace AI’

# AI Race With China: Insights from America’s Youngest Self-Made Billionaire

Alex Wang, founder of Scale AI and the world’s youngest self-made billionaire in 2022, recently testified before Congress on AI and American global competitiveness. His testimony highlighted the urgent steps America needs to take to maintain its leadership in artificial intelligence against China’s coordinated approach.

## The Existential AI Race

Wang emphasized that the AI competition between the United States and China is not merely technological but **existential** for national security and industry leadership. While the US currently leads in certain areas, China has been executing a strategic master plan since 2017-2018 with the goal of achieving AI dominance by 2030.

## Three Key Areas of Competition

According to Wang, the AI race boils down to three critical components:

1. **Energy and Chips** – The US currently leads in this area, but as President Trump noted, America needs to more than double its electricity production to power AI development
2. **Advanced Algorithms** – The US and China are relatively evenly matched in this technical research area
3. **Data** – America is “well behind” China, which has been systematically investing in data collection for over a decade

## America’s Path to AI Leadership

Wang outlined several strategic priorities for the United States:

– **Achieve Data Dominance**: Establish a “National AI Data Reserve” to leverage America’s strategic advantages
– **Government Modernization**: Embrace AI within government to improve efficiency and service delivery
– **Workforce Development**: Prepare American workers for AI integration across industries

## The Economic Opportunity

Contrary to fears about job losses, Wang highlighted the significant economic opportunities AI presents. His company, Scale AI, operates “one of the largest networks of human experts to fuel AI systems” spanning over 9,000 American cities and towns, with 20% in rural America. This demonstrates how AI can create jobs and economic growth across the country, including in energy production.

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Wang concluded his testimony with a message of both urgency and optimism: America can beat China in the AI race, but must act now to establish data dominance and leverage its governmental resources to create advantages that will last for decades.