THE UNITED STATES’ A.I. REVOLUTION is powered by a strategy of giving massive pay packets to scientists born and educated in China, statistics show. The US is running a costly brain-drain operation to grab China’s AI skills—and many Chinese are taking up the offers. “Only 11% of top China-educated AI researchers remain working in China — down from 16% in 2019,” said a report by Marco Polo Talent Tracker. They've been lured to the US. . AI MIRACLE 'IMPORTED' For specialists, salaries range from a million US dollars a year to 100 times that. One China-born researcher, Tony Wu Yuhuai, recently spent US$70 million on a “mega-mansion” in California. “Of China-educated AI researchers, 72% now work at institutions in the United States. America's AI advantage isn't homegrown — it's imported,” the study said. (Link provided.) The US’s dominance in AI is not based on technological ability, but cash—the ability to buy talent born and educated in China. . MINORITY FROM U.S. Only 24% of people in AI research in the US are from the US, while 38% are from China, said the study, which tracked the origins of scientists making breakthrough research in the AI field. The actual figure would be higher if ethnic Chinese who are first generation migrants to the US were included. The US is using its wealth to create an AI brain drain in China. “The brain drain continues despite massive domestic investment,” the report said. While most Chinese students at US universities return to their homeland, the same is not true in the AI field, thanks to financial inducements from US employers. . CURIOUS FAILURE OF BRAIN DRAIN EFFORT However, the costly program has failed to kill China’s AI efforts. The most talked-about rising stars of AI worldwide, including Z. ai, DeepSeek, Qwen and Kimi, are all created by Chinese staff born and based in China. While staff may be paid a fraction of what they would earn in the US, other factors come into play. Compared to the safe, calm societies of China, the US is a dangerous, gun-ridden place with a dysfunctional society overseen by a rogue government creating conflicts worldwide. . CLUES TO THE FUTURE Furthermore, the US tech scene is based on a bubble expected to burst at any moment. Then there’s the open hostility of the US government aimed directly towards the Chinese students that California needs to keep its tech companies going. The China-hate efforts now running in Congress make the legendarily vicious Joe McCarthy of 1950s fame look tolerant. One tech specialist who is staying in China told this reporter: “Smart players don’t look just at what’s happening today. We focus on the future.” . .