ChinaTalk Jordan Schneider

James Wang, partner at Creative Ventures, joins to discuss:

Huawei breakthrough implications and why NVIDIA's CUDA will make it particularly difficult to create a useful domestic AI chip

Why China's AI companies have been underperforming my expectations


How semiconductor industry dynamics parallel the challenges facing AI startups

How pizza machines explain AI's future impact on the labor market

Challenges and opportunities in investing in deep tech, including the eager but raw founder talent pool as well as the importance of market structure and distinguishing between R&D and engineering risk


This show was brought to you by Creative Ventures.
Creatives Ventures is at https://creativeventures.vc/
James writes at https://weightythoughts.com/ and tweets at @AJamesWang
Outtro Music: the legendary Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell
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Noah Smith of https://www.noahpinion.blog/ and Matt Klein of https://theovershoot.co/ join ChinaTalk to discuss:
We get into:

What's really happening with China's economy and why it matters strategically

How China's potential peak parallels Japan's

Why the world should and shouldn't be scared of China's progress in semis and EVs

What another Trump Administration could do for US-China relations

How Noah actually does his substack


This was a fun one, I hope you enjoy!
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Huawei’s breakthrough Kirin 9000s: what is it, why is it a big deal, and what if anything should the US do about it? Joining me, I have on two fantastic semiconductor analysis, Doug O'Laughlin of Fabricated Knowledge and Dylan Patel of SemiAnalysis. We get into:

How this chip illustrates Chinese engineering excellence and the porous nature of the current export control regime

Why we can expect AI chips on par with the A100 coming out of China in the next two years

What steps the US government could take to tighten export controls and set back the Chinese semiconductor ecosystem

How China has come to dominate both the lagging edge and the EV space


Here's my piece on the topic: https://www.chinatalk.media/p/huaweis-breakthrough-the-strategic
And here's Dylan's: https://www.semianalysis.com/p/china-ai-and-semiconductors-rise
Outtro music: 潮州土狗 - 50元的檳榔 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjl2qabfSNs
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This episode of China Talk explores the past, present, and future of Congress with AEI's Philip Wallach. We get into:

Origins of representative government trace back to medieval England, when the king consulted regional advisors – leading to development of Parliament

Founders inspired by this model when establishing Congress, wanting representation for diverse parts of young U.S.

But competing visions emerged for how Congress should work:

Madison's view: embrace factional conflict and compromise

Wilson's view: stronger centralized leadership

These tensions played out through different eras of Congress:

Early years: backlash against Hamilton’s Treasury power leads to first political party

New Deal/WWII: Congress oversees executive branch while enabling key programs

Civil rights era: Senate leaders allow extended filibuster, focus national attention, build enduring coalition

1970s reforms decentralize Congress but decrease cooperation between members over time

Under 1994 Gingrich revolution, partisan centralization becomes norm – embraced by both parties

Potential futures discussed, including a fever dream of Philip's where an immigration crisis actually prompts real lawmaking.


Outtro music: Nixon's 1972 campaign song
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How does the public, corporations, academia and civil society end up directly influencing some of China's most important regulations? What's the trajectory of China's approach to AI?
Matt Sheehan of CIEP returns to discuss the AI regulatory policy process in China!
Matt's paper: https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/07/10/china-s-ai-regulations-and-how-they-get-made-pub-90117
Outtro music: 曾涵江Cup ：天选 CHOSEN ONE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB607_3sDYQ
Image: I took an image from Dunhuang and prompted it with "artificial intelligence"
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Culture month continues with some traditional Chinese painting coverage!
What was it like to paint in premodern China? How did a husband-wife and master-mentee team up to produce some remarkable art? Why is it okay to say Chinese art is "good" or "bad" while those who critique western art have so much heartburn over saying their opinion?
Cohosting is Joseph Scheier-Dolberg, Chinese paintings curator at the MET.
This episode is better experienced on YouTube. Check out the video on ChinaTalk's YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/Rxr6xOj29A8
Here's the link to the exhibit: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/learning-to-paint/exhibition-objects
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