“China is the OPEC of data,” argues Webb. In a totalitarian society, every human and social interaction feeds a vast pool of structured data for machines to ingest. The Chinese government can then commandeer companies and people, as needed.

America may need an “AI czar,” argues Ashton B. Carter, former secretary of defense for President Barack Obama. That’s because no current agency or White House office is empowered to coordinate an effort as complicated as the Manhattan Project, which built a nuclear weapon, or the “space race” that put a man on the moon. But mobilizing resources in this way requires political vision and leadership, which are lacking today in both parties.

“China has a national strategy and is executing it. That’s what’s missing. There is no compelling overarching policy,” argues Paul Scharre, who studies AI at the Center for a New American Security. “It has to be a national effort, especially in terms of talent management,” agrees Robert Work, a former deputy secretary of defense.