DeepSeeks a shot across Americas bow we must fight Chinas new space race

This week’s launch of DeepSeek’s R1 must serve as a wake-up call for America and the West.DeepSeek’s AI model, a highly capable Chinese open-source AI that was reportedly engineered without access to America’s cutting-edge semiconductor chips, did more than roil investor markets for advanced technologies.It was a shot across America’s bow, highlighting how the advent of two major technological arenas — artificial intelligence and space exploration — has created new battlefields for geopolitical dominance.The United States must win these races to safeguard its national security, economic prosperityand global leadership in the 21st century.China stands as the West’s chief adversary in this competition, and its investments in AI and space have been strategic and aggressive.Beijing’s “Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan” aims to establish global AI supremacy by exploiting the Chinese Communist Party’s doctrine of civil-military fusion.Under this framework, Chinese companies like Baidu, Tencent and Huawei are not only advancing cutting-edge AI technologies but also leveraging them for military purposes, including autonomous weapons and surveillance systems.The People’s Liberation Army has integrated AI into its doctrines, while internally, the CCP has utilized AI-driven systems to create the world’s largest open-air concentration camps in Xinjiang — replete with facial recognition, biometric surveillance and voice and DNA recognition.The CCP has identified AI as the next great technological frontier, and its ambition is globaldominance.China has already made great strides toward that goal.Its Beidou satellite system, for example, was developed to rival America’s GPS network, allowing Beijing to extend its influence across developing nations.China’s Tiangong space station and ambitious lunar and Mars exploration programs signal itsintent to dominate beyond Earth’s atmosphere, while its ability to deploy satellite c...