AI Competition, Technofutures, and Writing, a Conversation with Selina Xu
This week, we have podcast host and Chair of NüVoices, Chenni Xu, discussing AI competition between US and China, technonationalism, writing and craft, with journalist and researcher Selina Xu (disclaimer: they are not related!).
In this episode, Selina Xu shares her views on the current AI competition, areas of cooperation, why Americans and Chinese view technology differently, her thesis on sinofuturism, and thoughts on writing non-fiction and fiction, including speculative fiction.
On the different sentiments between China and the United States toward AI:
“AI is developing so fast. What are the differences in how the two countries approach the technology and in which ways can they collaborate for a safe AI future?
I'm based in New York, and in a lot of conversations, I think there is a real nuanced discussion about the perils and dangers of an AI future, which you can say may be pessimism in the US about AI.
And then China, on the other hand, seems a lot more positive about AI and about technology in general.”
On finding your pathway after getting out of college:
“When I came back to campus after my gap year and after my journalism internships, I had a realization in which I knew what I wanted to do, because of how it's very much about talking to people and trying to delve deeply into an industry and then conveying those insights to the rest of the world in a way that hopefully, you can impact and make some kind of change.”
On AI becoming part of global competition:
“There's a lot of areas for cooperation, though, the way we should think about the AI landscape should be cooperation. So you should be cooperating while competing.”
Shownotes:
Self-care
Chenni - Slowing down and giving myself grace and realizing that the essence of who we are is just that — it’s always there, it’s not what you do or what labels are associated with you. Practical tip, my trainer,shoutout Maggi Gao, taught me 90-degrees breathing where you lie down on your back with your legs in a 90-degree angle to a bench (sort of like the pilates starting position) and breathing deeply for 2-5 minutes.
Selina - the meditative experience of drinking tea; pilates; extended skincare routines.
Recommendations:
Chenni - Strangers, by Belle Burden; A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, by George Saunders
Selina - the Broadway show Sunset Boulevard; the Chinese animated film 30,000 Miles from Chang'an; Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn; The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kirin Desai
About our guest:
Selina Xu is a writer and researcher based in New York, with a focus on China and tech. She currently leads China and AI policy research in the Office of Eric Schmidt. She was previously a journalist at Bloomberg News, covering everything from electric cars and Covid to livestreaming and cityscapes. Her recent pieces can be found in the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, among many other publications. Selina graduated from Harvard with a BA in History and Literature.
About our hosts:
Chenni Xu is a strategic communications advisor who began her career at Brunswick Group in Beijing and New York and later led North America communications for Ant Group from 2018 to 2022. She subsequently led product communications at Ripple and most recently supported U.S. market entry efforts at the Brazilian fintech Nubank . She currently advises companies operating across geopolitical and regulatory boundaries. Chenni currently serves as Chair of NüVoices, having been with the non-profit since its founding in 2018.