The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

Snapshot · The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

China Decode: Why China Got Locked Out of SpaceX and America’s Biggest IPOs (ft. Ed Elson)

Explore episode Jun 16, 2026

Where this was said

China Will Bend the Economy for Workers — America Won't

At 1:06:15 · chapter starts 1:06:00

Ed Elson delivers the episode's sharpest analytical observation: proactive AI regulation isn't just good ethics, it may be good strategy. If workers trust the government to protect them, they'll embrace the technology. A KPMG and University of Melbourne survey quantifies the gap starkly: 90% of Chinese respondents are excited about AI versus less than 40% of Americans. Ed connects this to the data center opposition story — tens of billions blocked in 2025, 19 states considering restrictions — arguing that America's regulatory vacuum is generating a public backlash that is materially slowing infrastructure buildout. China's approach, by contrast, creates public buy-in. He acknowledges this doesn't require glorifying the CCP, but argues that the White House's libertarian reflex is creating an own-goal that could hand China a structural advantage in the AI buildout over the long term.

Technology
Data Center Opposition: 19 States vs. the AI Buildout

China Decode: Why China Got Locked Out of SpaceX and Americ… · Jun 16, 2026 Technology

Tens of billions in US data center projects were blocked in 2025 due to public opposition, with 19 states considering construction restrictions or outright bans. Ed Elson argues this is a direct result of Washington's failure to regulate AI proactively — and it may end up handing China a structural advantage.

Technology
Big US Companies Are Quietly Running on Chinese AI

China Decode: Why China Got Locked Out of SpaceX and Americ… · Jun 16, 2026 Technology

The US-China AI decoupling narrative has a problem: it isn't happening at the enterprise level. Alice Han reports that major US tech companies she encountered are actively using Chinese open-source models like Qwen because they're dramatically cheaper than OpenAI or Claude. Deepseek's models are reportedly 96% cheaper than OpenAI's equivalent.

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