At the White House, Chinese President Xi Jinping recently told President Donald Trump that China and America, as “leading nations in artificial intelligence,” have “both the capability and responsibility” to develop it. On Capitol Hill, meanwhile, a bill would impose “an immediate federal moratorium on AI data centers.”

Whether AI turns out to be the most dangerous technology ever built or the most beneficial, the consequence is the same: The country that builds it will decide how it is used. Optimists and pessimists disagree about almost everything else. Not that.