China Smart. US Dumb: The Misinformation Game the Silicon Valley Way
May 4, 2026
Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.
China has been plugging along with its “China smart, US dumb” influence operation for a number of years. I have documented some of the more interesting variations; for example, a humble young girl working with few tools repairing a large mechanical component. Amazing, right? Yes, because the production hides the assistants, the equipment, and the technical experts who are making the impossible seems trivial to this clever Asian. For an example, check out this Google YouTube confection.
Most of the Chinese AI models enter the US market with a few news releases and stories about each in AI centric blogs. But most people don’t know a QWEN from a GLM. A Deepseek is, based on comments made to me at the National Cyber Crime Conference 2026, is confused with the Googley DeepMind brand.
A group of big AI tech executives ponder the interaction of a a cute panda with a big bird. None of those in the meeting find the illustration amusing. Touching one’s face suggests a need for reassurance and comfort when considering “better, faster, and cheaper.” Thanks, Venice.ai. Good enough.
Some people have noticed that China is providing low cost or no cost AI technology. Earlier this year Anthropic claimed that three Chinese companies “ripped it off,” using its AI tools to train their models. Examples include CNN which stated in April 2026 that the “White House accurses China of copying American AI models in industrial-scale campaign.”
Today my newsfeed displayed an even more interesting twist to this China vs. US AI propaganda or what might be called signaling about impending lobbying or litigation. Wired published a story that reveals that US AI companies are scared of Chinese technology. This is my reading of the carefully worded report “A Dark Money Campaign Is Paying Influencers to Frame Chinese AI As a Threat.” The useful information in the write up is not how China’s penetration of the AI BAIT (big AI tech) theme park has been. The juicy bit is:
Build American AI, a nonprofit linked to a super PAC bankrolled by executives at OpenAI and Andreessen Horowitz, is funding a campaign to spread pro-AI messaging and stoke fears about China.
This type of information output may be labeled content marketing, public relations, disinformation, misinformation, messaging, information warfare, or propaganda. For me, the existence of a nonprofit pumping out shaped information makes clear that someone is nervous. When big money and hard nosed investors are involved, the fear of failure motivates entities to take action. In the old days of the mythical Wild West, one can see dusty camps where workers are confined or smell gun smoke wafting on the late afternoon breeze. For me, I prefer information warfare.
The Wired write up asserts:
Marketing agencies are pitching influencers deals such as $5,000 per TikTok video to amplify Build American AI’s messaging about how China’s technological rise should be seen as a threat.
No kidding. The fact that US AI entities are the “dark money” behind the influence campaign certifies that Chinese AI and China’s tactics for making US technology look ridiculously overpriced and inefficient is working. Hey, those hard working females repairing equipment are turning their Middle Kingdom heritage into working QWENs.
Wired asserts that some well known AI and philosophical Silicon Valley types are funding this US smart, China bad effort; to wit:
Supporters of Leading the Future include OpenAI president and cofounder Greg Brockman, venture capitalist and Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and AI company Perplexity, according to the PAC.
Wired also includes a lick from the Palantirians and hobbits as well; to wit:
The rhetoric provided to influencers echoes long-standing talking points from companies like OpenAI and Palantir, which have pointed to China’s AI advances as a reason to boost US AI investment and resist tighter domestic regulations on the technology. “We are going to be the dominant player, or China is going to be the dominant player, and there will just be very different rules depending on who wins,” Palantir CEO Alex Karp said on The Axios Show in November.
Palantir is worried. Because if China wins in AI, that means that Palantir will not win. That is indeed bad for those who are helping the White House understand the Chinese AI threat. Silicon Valley — trust me on this — has to win. Those billions and those assertions about the ethical obligation of Silicon Valley are at stake. Silicon Valley AI BAITers have a zeal fueling their interest in advancing US smart software.
Several observations:
- I am not sure where this story originated. Was it the “author” Taylor Lorenz? Was it writers from “Made in China,” a newsletter? Is the story part of an influence campaign? I don’t know. I am reasonably sure that no one will probe too deeply into the Wired branded write up. That tells me something.
- The Wired article and the commentary about it does not bring up the Chinese influence campaign. That also tells me something about the depth of research and analysis invested in this story. My newsfeed determined that the article was important enough to put in under my nose at 9 am on May 2, 2026.
- The AI “revolution” is not a company-level problem in China. In the US, the merger of BAIT and the US government makes policy decisions a bit more like pushing a blob of clay and hoping that something useful emerges from the blog some distance away. China is more direct: Better, faster, and cheaper. Goal: Undermine US AI credibility.
Net net: The Silicon Valley “way” is the target of the Chinese AI push. Believe me. Silicon Valley tech bros are aware of this competitive pressure. Bombast, manifestos, and TikToks are not likely to blunt what has been going on since the AI craziness took off in 2022. Microsoft is already blinking. Critics of AI are getting clicks. Who hasn’t heard about the B to Z guys, Burry and Zitron (b2z0, not the a16z or the Andreessen Horowitz numeronym. Worth watching for someone, not a dinobaby like me.
Stephen E Arnold, May 4, 2026
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