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At our recent New York Tech Week panel, experts broke down how the extreme concentration of AI power in the U.S. and China threatens human rights and economic sovereignty around the world https://restofworld.org/2026/ai-divide-america-china-world/?utm_campaign=row-social
New AI infrastructure is emerging in India, Brazil, the UAE, and Africa, where local stacks are designed to get around compute scarcity https://restofworld.org/2026/scarcity-is-driving-ai-innovation-outside-silicon-valley/?utm_campaign=row-social
While only 38% of Americans say they are excited about AI, optimism levels reach as high as 84% in China and 80% in Indonesia, signaling a massive regional divide in how the world views the future of tech https://restofworld.org/2026/ai-optimism-asia/?utm_campaign=row-social
While one in four cars sold globally is now electric, U.S. adoption is stalling at just 10% due to a lack of subsidies and access to affordable Chinese models https://restofworld.org/2026/iea-global-ev-outlook-us-sales-drop/?utm_campaign=row-social
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The U.S. is impaired by a lack of supportive policy and subsidies, the unavailability of affordable Chinese models, and a preference for big cars.
In most countries, electric compact sedans are cheaper to own over five years than gasoline cars, but U.S. drivers are cut off from these savings because the budget-friendly Chinese models are blocked by tariffs https://restofworld.org/2026/us-ev-sales-drop-global-outlook/?utm_campaign=row-social
Refugees in the U.S. and West Africa are turning to localized AI assistants to navigate complex legal documentation and find essential scholarships https://restofworld.org/2026/irc-signpost-humanitarian-ai-refugee-assistance/?utm_campaign=row-social
Canada and the EU opened their doors to Chinese electric cars this year while the U.S. watched from behind a tariff wall.
For $7 an hour, virtual assistants in the Philippines are using AI to write LinkedIn posts and comments on behalf of Western executives, fueling a "thought leadership" content mill https://restofworld.org/2026/virtual-assistant-linkedin-engagement/?utm_campaign=row-social
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For $7 an hour, virtual assistants use AI tools to write LinkedIn posts and comments on behalf of Western executives.
The U.S. and China control 90% of global compute, forcing other nations to trade data and energy for AI access https://restofworld.org/2026/ai-divide-america-china-world/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1781021708
At a Rest of World event during New York Tech Week, we explored the challenges and possible solutions to the dominance of American and Chinese AI companies.
Gig workers in Africa helped train AI systems for a company that performed work for a secretive U.S. military unit. Many were never told their work could be used for military purposes https://restofworld.org/2026/gig-workers-us-military-appen/?utm_campaign=row-social
Data labelers for the company Appen say they have little insight about how their work is used.
While Silicon Valley's layoffs make headlines, China’s tech giants are carrying out their own massive workforce reductions quietly https://restofworld.org/2026/china-tech-layoffs-alibaba-baidu-ai-pivot/?utm_campaign=row-social
Alibaba reduced its head count by a third in 2025, while Baidu’s workforce declined nearly 7%. “There’s constant churn,” a Chinese tech worker said.
