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In the US-China AI race, the real fight is keeping humans in control

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Cite

Liu, S. (2026, September 28). In the US-China AI race, the real fight is keeping humans in control. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3368932/us-china-ai-race-real-fight-keeping-humans-control?utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

South China Morning Post · collected 2026-09-28 · by Shaoshan Liu

Quick Summary

The article discusses the US-China race in artificial intelligence (AI), focusing on the challenge of maintaining human control over increasingly autonomous systems. Both nations view AI as crucial for economic and strategic dominance but struggle to set boundaries that ensure humans retain authority while deploying advanced technologies rapidly. The piece explores how AI's autonomy could transform it from a tool into an independent actor, complicating traditional notions of national power and control in international relations.
Written by AI on 2026-09-28, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In the escalating US-China artificial intelligence (AI) competition, both nations view AI as a critical tool for economic, scientific, and strategic power. However, this race poses a significant dilemma: while rapid deployment of advanced AI systems enhances national capabilities, it also diminishes human control over these technologies. Shaoshan Liu argues that setting clear boundaries between human authority and machine autonomy is crucial to prevent AI from becoming an independent actor in international politics. The challenge lies in balancing the need for technological advancement with maintaining human oversight to ensure AI remains a tool under human direction rather than an autonomous player.

Written for “US China AI Race” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 US China AI Race
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
9
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
11%
1 of 9 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
64/100
South China Morning Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-28 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Shaoshan Liu
1 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 AI could then become an independent agent in international politics, not merely a tool used by states.
2026-09-28 · assertive framing · In the US-China AI race, the real fight is keeping humans in control
The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Topics

China

Subjects

China GPE · 3×

Narrative

In the US-China AI race, the real fight is keeping humans in control A crisis hotline is a start, but the deeper task is setting clear boundaries between human authority and machine autonomy – while we still hold the reins The US-China AI competition faces a dilemma.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-28
🔮 AI could then become an independent agent in international politics, not merely a tool used by states.
2026-09-28 · South China Morning Post
In the US-China AI race, the real fight is keeping humans in control · assertive framing

Claims (9 extracted, 1 hedged)

In the US-China AI race, the real fight is keeping humans in control A crisis hotline is a start, but the deeper task is setting clear boundaries between human authority and machine autonomy – while we still hold the reins The US-China AI competition faces a dilemma. asserted
competition → keep → dilemma
Both countries see artificial intelligence as a source of economic, scientific and strategic power, so neither has much incentive to slow down. asserted
neither → see → incentive
It reveals a deeper dilemma facing both powers. asserted
It → reveal → powers
Competition rewards faster deployment and greater delegation to machines. asserted
Competition → reward → machines
Control requires limits, monitoring and the ability to intervene. asserted
Control → require → limits
The same systems that increase national power can therefore make human authority harder to preserve as AI becomes more autonomous. asserted
AI → increase → power
Conventional geopolitics treats AI mainly as an instrument: the US builds better systems, China builds better systems and each side uses them to advance human-defined objectives. asserted
side → treat → objectives
But what happens when the instrument can act for sustained periods without continuous human direction? asserted
instrument → happen → direction
AI could then become an independent agent in international politics, not merely a tool used by states. uncertain
AI → become → states
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