In the field of AI, I think the U.S. is projecting a deeper psychological need for security and global dominance—what could be seen as a collective shadow or identity construct. Every society has its own form of this projection, and in the U.S., it often manifests through a binary worldview: us vs. them. This unconscious framing can trap people on either side of the debate, even when more nuanced, multidimensional perspectives exist.

Personally, I don’t believe the outcome will neatly align with either dominant narrative. It’s likely to take a different path altogether—one that's not captured by a zero-sum mindset.

Vitalik’s recent blog post on 2027 captures this well:

"A 'we must race to beat China' mentality among US labs becomes more risky, for similar reasons. If hegemony is not a safety buffer, but rather a source of risk, then this is a further argument against the (unfortunately too common) idea that a well-meaning person should join a leading AI lab to help it win even faster."