Meta's Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang Says He Personally Went to China to Pitch Projects in Chinese During His University Startup Days
Meta's Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang stated in an interview with Cleo Abram that his perspective on China has changed; he was previously very concerned about China but now believes the U.S. portrays it as overly frightening.
He recalled reading speeches by Chinese officials who view AI as an opportunity to surpass the West, which caused his worries; however, over time, he believes both sides will recognize the power of this technology and face common issues regarding safe development and avoiding loss of control.
Wang assesses that the Chinese government also desires social stability, controllable technology, and to avoid disasters that threaten humanity; these common interests make some form of international cooperation possible, rather than pure zero-sum competition.
Previously, as the founder of Scale AI, Wang often framed AI competition within the context of national security and military advantage, publicly writing to Trump in January 2025 that "the U.S. must win the AI war," warning that China is rapidly catching up; during congressional testimony that same year, he proposed four pillars: leading, releasing, innovating, and promoting, calling for increased investment to ensure global leadership.
Wang, a second-generation Chinese American, personally traveled to China during his university startup days to pitch projects to investors in Chinese; after Scale AI secured defense contracts, his public statements emphasized the necessity of U.S. leadership and defeating China.
This shift occurred after Wang joined Meta as Chief AI Officer and led the Superintelligence Lab, adjusting the previous "AI war" narrative to emphasize common security goals; funding and attention shifted from a purely confrontational framework to potential cooperation and controllable development, benefiting from institutions emphasizing stability and multilateral paths, while facing pressure from previous defense and policy positions reliant on competitive narratives.
In the interview, he also mentioned that personal grievances among AI leaders are affecting how technology is being built, calling for setting aside differences.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Wang transitioned from founder of Scale AI (which secured defense contracts and publicly called for the U.S. to win the AI war) to Chief AI Officer at Meta in 2025, shifting from providing data labeling services to leading the Superintelligence Lab; he initially went to China for funding in Chinese, later emphasizing national competition.
In terms of capital and role, Meta acquired part of Scale for about $14 billion and hired Wang, transforming him from an independent entrepreneur to a head of AI at a large platform; motivations include accelerating internal AI capabilities, while his public statements shifted from a confrontational framework to acknowledging common security interests, potentially reducing multilateral friction.
Similar cases include other tech executives adjusting their public statements on geopolitical competition after obtaining large platform positions or defense contracts; currently, we are in a phase where AI capabilities are nearing, and safety and controllability issues are becoming common constraints.
This essentially represents a shift in narrative and pricing power: adjusting China from a "must-defeat opponent" to an entity "also facing risks of technological loss of control," transforming the zero-sum war narrative in the competition framework to shared stability goals, altering the pricing of policies and capital priorities against confrontation, while still pursuing leadership.
ABAB News · Cognitive Laws
Shifting from a war narrative to shared risks often occurs after roles transition from entrepreneur to platform leader.
Portraying opponents as monsters reduces one's ability to see common constraints.
Once safety and controllability become common issues for both sides, zero-sum competition begins to reveal gaps for cooperation.