Cultural Year Wheel Model: Revealing the Reversal of the Sino-US AI Landscape

In the past few years, the development landscape of the artificial intelligence field has undergone a surprising shift. The United States, once considered more inclined towards openness, has instead gained an advantage in closed-source AI; while China, traditionally viewed as focused on control, is leading in the open-source AI space. This phenomenon has challenged many people's preconceived notions and sparked in-depth reflection on the relationship between technological development and cultural attitudes.

To explain this seemingly contradictory phenomenon, some scholars have proposed the "Cultural and Political Annual Ring Model". This model suggests that a culture's attitude towards new things depends on the social atmosphere of its formation period, while its attitude towards existing things is mainly driven by inertia. Once these cultural attitudes are formed, they are difficult to change, much like the rings of a tree.

From a historical perspective, the United States has indeed experienced waves of regulation, but the peak of this trend was mainly concentrated in the 1990s. After entering the 21st century, the overall regulatory environment gradually strengthened. However, the internet culture that emerged in the 1990s still retained its free and open characteristics, and this deeply rooted concept has allowed the United States and countries influenced by it to enjoy a relatively free online environment for a long time.

In contrast, artificial intelligence, as a gradually maturing technology of the 2020s, has its development pattern influenced by different cultures. In the field of AI, the United States has taken the lead, while China is in a catching-up position. To narrow the gap, China has adopted a strategy of "commoditizing the complementary advantages of competitors," which aligns well with the growing open-source preferences of the developer community. As a result, China has created a very friendly environment for open-source in the field of AI, although this open attitude is mainly limited to AI and remains relatively closed in other technology areas.

This phenomenon inspires us that once a cultural concept has become solidified, it will be very difficult to change it. In contrast, creating new behavioral patterns and establishing good norms and cultural foundations in the early stages of their formation may be a more effective approach. This is precisely the appeal of the cryptocurrency and Web3 fields: they provide a relatively independent technological and cultural environment, allowing for the free exploration of new possibilities without being overly constrained by existing biases.

In this rapidly changing era, we may no longer need to struggle to change those deeply rooted old concepts, but instead can inject new vitality into the entire technological ecosystem by cultivating new "species" of trees. This approach is applicable not only to technological innovation but can also extend to experiments and explorations of social norms. Through online or offline communities, we have the opportunity to shape new cultural attitudes, laying a more open and inclusive foundation for future development.