Big Tech's AI Race with China Is a Myth to Justify Data Center Expansion

Mitch Jones, who oversees policy and litigation at Food & Water Watch, argues that the narrative of a US-China AI competition is a misleading story crafted by Big Tech to justify the creation of massive data centers. He suggests that the goals of AI development differ greatly: the US seeks artificial general intelligence (AGI) using large language models (LLMs), while China aims to embed AI into consumer products and robotics. Although Chinese LLMs, which are mostly open-source, have recently outperformed some US counterparts, Jones emphasizes that the huge data centers, needing as much as 5 gigawatts of power, are only essential for the US's AGI efforts. He criticizes Big Tech for using this narrative to dodge accountability, highlighting rising grassroots resistance, with over $130 billion in data center projects canceled or defeated in 2026 and New York imposing a year-long pause on new centers. Ultimately, he believes the real struggle is between communities and Big Tech, not the US and China.