Ok, that. China seems less interventionist, and to use more soft power. The US is more willing to go to war. But is that because the US is more powerful than China, or because Chinese culture is intrinsically more peaceful? If China made the killer robots first, would they say “MUA-HA-HA actually we always wanted to shoot people for no good reason like in yankee movies! Go and kill!”
Since politics is a default-no on lesswrong, I’ll try to muddle the waters by making a distracting unserious figurative narration.
Americans maybe have more of a culture of “if I die in a shooting conflict, I die honorably, guns for everyone”. Instead China is more about harmony&homogenity, “The CCP is proud to announce that in 2025 the Harmonious Agreement Quinquennal Plan in concluded successfully; all disagreements are no more, and everyone is officially friends”. When the Chinese send Uighurs to the adult equivalent of school, Americans freak out: “What? Mandated school? Without the option of shooting back?”
My doubt is mostly contingent on not having first-hand experience of China, while I have of the US. I really don’t trust narratives from outside. In particular I don’t trust narratives from Americans right now! My own impression of the US changed substantially by going there in person, and I even am from an allied country with broad US cultural influence.
Ok, that. China seems less interventionist, and to use more soft power. The US is more willing to go to war. But is that because the US is more powerful than China, or because Chinese culture is intrinsically more peaceful? If China made the killer robots first, would they say “MUA-HA-HA actually we always wanted to shoot people for no good reason like in yankee movies! Go and kill!”
Since politics is a default-no on lesswrong, I’ll try to muddle the waters by making a distracting unserious figurative narration.
Americans maybe have more of a culture of “if I die in a shooting conflict, I die honorably, guns for everyone”. Instead China is more about harmony&homogenity, “The CCP is proud to announce that in 2025 the Harmonious Agreement Quinquennal Plan in concluded successfully; all disagreements are no more, and everyone is officially friends”. When the Chinese send Uighurs to the adult equivalent of school, Americans freak out: “What? Mandated school? Without the option of shooting back?”
My doubt is mostly contingent on not having first-hand experience of China, while I have of the US. I really don’t trust narratives from outside. In particular I don’t trust narratives from Americans right now! My own impression of the US changed substantially by going there in person, and I even am from an allied country with broad US cultural influence.