The Age of Implementation
A reaction to AI superpowers – China, Silicon Valley, and the new world order
I found the book captivating and insightful, especially in how it frames the cultural differences between China and Silicon Valley. It’s eye-opening to see how much China has changed when viewed against long-standing American biases and assumptions about Chinese society. At times, the book reads like propaganda, but it feels closer to Kai-fu Lee’s genuine national optimism and realism. Given his deep experience in both countries, that optimism carries real weight, even if it’s hard not to feel conflicted by the contrast between utilitarianism and individualism that broadly defines China and the US.
If there’s one thing from his book, it is that Chinese techno-utilitarianism will surpass America as long as it remains more focused on politics and division and lacks a sense of national purpose, which the Chinese do not lack. The Chinese have a chip on their shoulder. And Silicon Valley pride seems steeped in arrogance. While that is a vast generalization. The landscape seems ripe for a David vs. Goliath moment.
Some of the future described feels dystopian: cameras everywhere, sensors in our shoping cart, whole cities built for constant data collection. The opportunity for abuse is staggering, even when many of these advancements are framed as altruistic. While Kai-fu Lee is largely optimistic, recent history gives reason for caution. The question isn’t whether AI will reshape the world, but how.
Now, back to us, the individuals. Borrowing from Kai-fu Lee’s framing, we’ve entered a new phase of AI. Not discovery. Implementation. The breakthrough already happened. The real question now is how we use it. Code has never been cheaper, and the cost to build, ship, and iterate continues to fall. That shift gives entrepreneurs and strong individual engineers a real advantage.
This is the age where implementation beats theory. Shipping beats prestige. Good engineers move faster while elite engineers figure out their next big swing. There’s a growing tension between globalization and localization; one size does not fit all. Localization has a chance to matter more than scale. Teams that understand their users, problems, and constraints can beat larger companies to the punch. At the same time, backlash is growing. In America, anti-AI sentiment is pushing conversations toward privacy, ownership, and trust. While US and Chinese policies are allowing for a blistering pace, not everyone is convinced or willing to let AI dictate the future of the internet.
Artificial intelligence has created a new landscape for developers: microservices, specialized applications, and flexible payment models. Small experiments yield clear value and quick feedback. The future of AI will be determined not by the size of the company but by the effectiveness of their implementation.