I've been listening to Steve Hsu for some time, and I agree with him much of the time. However, with regard to the long term AI competition between the US and China, I have a different prediction. I think the relative parity that currently exists will ultimately diverge with the US increasingly dominating AI and all STEM fields. As Hsu points out a significant proportion of the top Chinese STEM students do their graduate work in the US and many of the best end up staying. The brain drain from China to the US has obvious political underpinnings (which were not discussed in this interview), and is a gift to the US from the CCP. As the Chinese regime becomes ever more authoritarian, the immigration asymmetry will become even more pronounced. Few people want to spend their lives under the repression of a tyrannical regime. As for the rest of the world (e.g., India) again the US enjoys a net inflow of talent. With western Europe slowly disintegrating politically and economically, I don't see many asians choosing Europe as an option. Thus, when it comes to a future at the frontier of tech, the US is becoming virtually the only game in town. As such, I expect it to benefit even more from highly skilled immigration going forward than it has up to now.
I've been listening to Steve Hsu for some time, and I agree with him much of the time. However, with regard to the long term AI competition between the US and China, I have a different prediction. I think the relative parity that currently exists will ultimately diverge with the US increasingly dominating AI and all STEM fields. As Hsu points out a significant proportion of the top Chinese STEM students do their graduate work in the US and many of the best end up staying. The brain drain from China to the US has obvious political underpinnings (which were not discussed in this interview), and is a gift to the US from the CCP. As the Chinese regime becomes ever more authoritarian, the immigration asymmetry will become even more pronounced. Few people want to spend their lives under the repression of a tyrannical regime. As for the rest of the world (e.g., India) again the US enjoys a net inflow of talent. With western Europe slowly disintegrating politically and economically, I don't see many asians choosing Europe as an option. Thus, when it comes to a future at the frontier of tech, the US is becoming virtually the only game in town. As such, I expect it to benefit even more from highly skilled immigration going forward than it has up to now.
You say New Zealand is quite homogeneous. Have you been to the country recently? More specifically, have you been to Auckland?
I've mostly spent time in Hawke's Bay, which looks homogenous. I can imagine other trends apply to the capital.