'The wolf is at the door': China's terrifying AI leap demands a Manhattan Project-level response from the West...

...To prevent a world where the CCP calls all the shots

John Mac Ghlionn I 02 February 2025 I SkyNews Contributor and Political Commentator

January's wave of artificial intelligence (AI) announcements from China comes as a warning shot to the world.

Specifically, the Western world.

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Beijing is moving at an unprecedented pace, transforming AI into a tool of societal influence, control, and dominance.

While Western countries, including Australia, watch from the sidelines, China is laying the groundwork to dictate the future of the most transformative technology humanity has ever created.

This isn’t hyperbole.

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This isn’t just another revolution like the steam engine or even the internet.

AI stands apart.

Yet Canberra seems woefully unprepared.

Forget ChatGPT

Before diving into Australia’s AI challenges - and those faced by the West as a whole - it’s crucial to first understand the magnitude of China’s AI achievements.

To do that, we must discuss DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company that has taken the tech world by surprise.

This cutting-edge startup, headquartered in Hangzhou, a city in eastern China, is already competing with the biggest names in Silicon Valley.

Its flagship product, DeepSeek-V3, is an advanced Large Language Model (LLM) - a type of AI that processes and generates human-like language.

These models are behind tools like ChatGPT, which can write essays, generate code and even offer legal or medical advice.

But what makes DeepSeek stand out is not just its capabilities - it’s how much it’s achieved with so little.

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While American companies like OpenAI and Google pour hundreds of millions into developing their AI models, DeepSeek built its highly advanced system on a reported budget of just $5.5 million, approximately $8.8 million AUD.

Despite the shoestring funding, its technology has already outperformed some of the most sophisticated Western models.

Let that sink in for a minute.

This raises a critical and unsettling question: If China can achieve this with a fraction of the resources, what will happen when Beijing inevitably pumps billions into projects like this?

DeepSeek offers a glimpse into China’s broader ambitions for AI.

For context, in China, companies are not independent entities like the way they are in the West.

Every major business, especially those in strategically important sectors like AI, operates under the watchful eye of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Many executives and workers are party members and laws like the National Intelligence Law require companies to cooperate with government intelligence efforts.

In essence, DeepSeek is a tool in Beijing’s arsenal, part of a larger strategy to dominate global technology and influence.

The implications are, for lack of a better word, vast.

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DeepSeek’s language models are designed to process and generate text, making them integral to apps, customer service platforms, and even decision-making systems.

These models shape how people think, work, and interact.

If these systems are embedded in everyday life - whether in businesses, schools, or even government operations - they could subtly manipulate information, push narratives favourable to China and collect vast amounts of data along the way.

Every time someone uses a DeepSeek-powered tool, they could unknowingly be feeding data into Beijing’s systems - data that isn’t just a hypothetical weapon for the future but under China’s regime, an inevitability.

We’ve already seen how TikTok has taken over the world.

Once dismissed as just another social media app, TikTok has reshaped cultural trends, spread CCP-endorsed propaganda and dramatically shortened attention spans, all while quietly collecting troves of user data.

Its influence on younger generations, from shaping identities to dictating what trends gain traction, has become impossible to ignore.

Now imagine that same power, not confined to an entertainment platform, but multiplied and weaponised, embedded into AI systems capable of influencing decisions and redefining societal norms on a global scale.

AI in the hands of a nation like China.

If that doesn’t concern you, I ask, what does?

Australia’s AI Problem

When it comes to AI strategy, Australia is stuck in the slow lane.

The government’s focus on incremental advancements, patchwork investments and outdated regulatory frameworks reflects a failure to grasp the profound stakes of the AI race.

While other nations funnel huge sums into research and development, Australia prioritises vague policy initiatives that lack both ambition and urgency.

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This complacency is particularly concerning given AI’s trajectory.

Unlike traditional technologies that amplify human ability, AI has the potential to replace human involvement altogether.

Entire industries - education, healthcare, agriculture - are poised to be reshaped by systems that are faster, cheaper, and more efficient than their human counterparts.

What happens to work, identity, and agency in a world where machines outperform us in every measurable way?

And, more critically, what happens when another nation, namely China, controls those systems?

It bears emphasising the fact that China isn’t merely dabbling in AI - it’s set to dominate.

With state-backed investments and a strategic roadmap, Beijing has created an ecosystem where companies like Baidu, Tencent, and DeepSeek can push the boundaries of AI innovation.

The implications of losing the AI race go beyond innovation.

They strike at the heart of freedom itself.

AI is fast becoming the ultimate tool for control.

If Beijing controls the algorithms that dictate what billions of people see, hear, and believe, then it controls the global narrative.

In such a world, dissent could be stifled and entire societies reprogrammed to align with the values of the CCP.

Many will argue that Australia’s commitment to freedom is faltering and has been for many years.

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You’re not wrong.

Things could, and should, be much better.

But as I’ve often said, Hell has a basement.

Australia’s elected leaders may be flawed, painfully so, but they pale in comparison to Xi Jinping and his cohort.

Some might insist they’re equally bad, but let’s not pretend Canberra operates on the same level of authoritarian control as Beijing.

Acknowledging Reality

The stakes could not be higher and Australia’s response thus far has been tepid.

And that’s being kind.

A fragmented approach to funding research and an embarrassing lack of emphasis on building domestic expertise leaves the nation dangerously exposed.

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This is more than an issue of economics or innovation - it’s a matter of sovereignty.

Australia risks becoming a digital colony, dependent on more technologically advanced nations for critical infrastructure, innovation and security.

Worse, it leaves itself vulnerable to manipulation by foreign powers that could exploit its technological gaps.

This moment calls for more than lukewarm rhetoric or piecemeal reforms.

It demands a unified, urgent national effort - a Manhattan Project for AI.

The comparison may seem dramatic.

But we are standing on the precipice of a significant moment for mankind, with AI poised to reshape the global order in ways that could destabilise entire nations.

As I alluded to earlier, AI is not just another technological leap.

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It’s the most profound tool humanity has ever created, capable of reshaping every aspect of our lives.

It’s a technology that can remove humans from the equation of work, decision-making, and even creativity.

Paradoxically, as AI grows more “inhuman”, it forces us to confront what it truly means to be human.

What values, rights, and freedoms do we want to preserve in a world where intelligence is no longer a uniquely human trait?

What will our world look like if China calls the shots?

Wake up, Australia, before it’s too late.

The wolf is at the door.

John Mac Ghlionn is a researcher and essayist who writes on psychology and social relations. He has a keen interest in social dysfunction and media manipulation