Zero Sum Tech – War Dispatch

The struggle for global supremacy has moved from trenches to tech. Today’s battles are fought with algorithms, advanced chips, energy control, and the fusion of state and corporate power. The world’s great powers maneuver across the arenas of data, capital, and infrastructure, each wielding distinct strategies.

United States: Fortress Innovation
The U.S. holds the high ground in frontier AI, chip architecture, and financial reach. Recent moves include chip export bans on China, CHIPS Act subsidies to secure semiconductor dominance, and a fusion of Treasury sanctions with tech denial. Washington’s battle plan: push deeper into AI via private R&D, weaponize the dollar to cut adversary supply lines, and fortify allied chokepoints in chipmaking and materials.

China: The Mobilization Machine
China’s doctrine blends state command with industrial blitz execution, enabling rapid deployment of 5G, EVs, drones, and renewables. Recent maneuvers include boosting domestic chipmaking, sealing data borders, and exporting subsidized telecom and surveillance systems via the Belt and Road. Beijing’s play: direct vast resources into critical tech, vertically integrate supply chains, and secure client states through infrastructure dependency.

Other Combatants
Russia disrupts with cyber strikes, energy weaponization, and hybrid warfare, using arms exports as influence currency. The EU fights through regulatory offensives like the AI Act and GDPR, pushing global standards to bind rivals. India hedges between U.S. and Chinese tech, building its own chip and AI industries to maintain independence.

The Command Assessment
The U.S. leverages innovation, finance, and alliances; China relies on mass mobilization and influence corridors. Russia destabilizes, the EU dictates rules, and India keeps supply lines flexible. Victory will favor the power that can sustain capital, political will, and adaptability through shifting cycles of offense and defense.

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