Web Summit Attendees Remain Unconvinced by Scale AI’s CEO Advocating for America to Win the AI War

Last month, Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang made a bold statement by taking out a full-page ad in The Washington Post, urging President Trump that “America must win the AI war.”

His remarks sparked debate, which was evident during his appearance at Web Summit Qatar on Sunday. When Axios’ Felix Salmon, who was moderating the discussion, asked the audience how many agreed with Wang’s stance, only two hands were raised. In contrast, an “overwhelming” number of attendees indicated their disagreement.

Wang Defends His Stance, Citing National Security Concerns

Pressed to justify his position, Wang emphasized that AI would fundamentally reshape national security. He referenced his upbringing in Los Alamos, New Mexico—the birthplace of the atomic bomb—and his parents’ work as physicists at the National Lab. He framed AI development as a competition between the U.S. and China, warning that China could use AI to surpass the military capabilities of Western nations. This concern, he explained, was the motivation behind his ad.

Wang’s rhetoric aligns with a growing narrative from defense tech startups and venture capitalists advocating for greater autonomy in AI-powered weaponry. They argue that China could deploy fully autonomous AI weapons while U.S. regulations might require human oversight before engaging targets, potentially putting America at a disadvantage.

Beyond military concerns, Wang positioned AI as a geopolitical choice, particularly regarding large language models (LLMs). He framed the competition as a two-horse race between the U.S. and China, omitting players like France’s Mistral. He argued that American models uphold free speech, whereas Chinese models are shaped by government censorship and ideological constraints.

Concerns Over Censorship Clash with Global Skepticism

Indeed, researchers have found that many Chinese LLMs embed state-imposed censorship, raising concerns about data privacy and potential government backdoors. However, Wang’s perspective faced strong pushback from the Web Summit audience, highlighting global skepticism toward framing AI development as a zero-sum battle between nations.

Wang’s concerns about government influence in AI felt particularly relevant as his talk coincided with Scale AI’s newly announced partnership with the Qatari government. On Sunday, Wang revealed that Scale would assist Qatar in developing 50 AI-powered government applications spanning sectors like education and healthcare.

Scale AI is best known for employing a vast network of contract workers—many based outside the U.S.—to manually train AI models. The company collaborates with Microsoft, OpenAI, Meta, and most major U.S. foundational model developers. It also offers products like an AI data engine and AI-powered applications, some of which cater to the defense industry.

While Wang’s strong pro-American messaging likely resonates with Scale AI’s Department of Defense clients, his Web Summit appearance also underscored a broader discomfort—many attendees seemed just as uneasy about U.S. dominance in AI as they were about other nations’ influence.

Read the original article on: TechCrunch

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