DeepSeek Surprise Forces U.S. to Engage in China’s New Space Race

The recent introduction of DeepSeek’s R1 should alarm the United States and its allies.

DeepSeek’s AI model, an advanced Chinese open-source AI reportedly developed without access to America’s state-of-the-art semiconductor chips, has shaken investor confidence in advanced technology sectors.

This development serves as a stark warning, underscoring how the emergence of key technological domains — namely artificial intelligence and space exploration — has established new fronts for geopolitical competition.

For the United States to protect its national security, economic well-being, and global leadership in the 21st century, it must excel in these domains.

China is the primary challenger to the West in this rivalry, and its strategic and aggressive investments in AI and space are notable.

The Chinese government’s “Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan” is designed to achieve global AI dominance by leveraging the Chinese Communist Party’s policy of civil-military integration.

This strategy enables companies like Baidu, Tencent, and Huawei to develop leading-edge AI technologies while also applying them for military uses, including autonomous weapon systems and surveillance capabilities.

The People’s Liberation Army has incorporated AI into its operational strategies, and domestically, the CCP employs AI technologies to support the world’s largest open-air concentration camps in Xinjiang, which are equipped with advanced facial recognition, biometric tracking, and voice and DNA identification systems.

Identifying AI as the next critical technological frontier, the CCP aspires for global dominance.

China has already made significant progress toward that objective.

For instance, its Beidou satellite system was designed to rival the U.S. GPS system, extending China’s influence in developing countries.

China’s Tiangong space station and its ambitious lunar and Mars exploration initiatives demonstrate its intent to assert control beyond Earth’s atmosphere, while its capability to deploy satellite constellations en masse challenges U.S. systems, including SpaceX’s Starlink.

Indeed, we can already see how the CCP and other adversarial states, from Moscow to Tehran, could exploit supremacy in AI and space if permitted to thrive.

Inquire of DeepSeek regarding sensitive topics like the Tiananmen Square incident, the treatment of Uyghurs by the CCP, or Taiwan’s independence, and you will receive generic responses such as “Sorry, that’s beyond my current scope” — the same type of evasion one might expect from a human mouthpiece for the Communist Party.

Meanwhile, Russia has adapted its approach since its errors in Ukraine, increasingly employing AI technologies to support its ongoing conflict, even incorporating a dedicated focus on AI within its recently published 10-year defense strategy.

Shortly before the horrific attacks by Hamas on October 7, Iran revealed its plans to integrate artificial intelligence into its drone operations.

These regimes will harness the remarkable potential of these technologies as they always have: to enhance their power, suppress their citizens, and dismantle their adversaries.

Humanity deserves a brighter and different future — but the U.S. must spearhead this effort.

To achieve this, America needs to prioritize investments in AI and space technologies across both public and private sectors.

The establishment of the U.S. Space Force by President Trump was a meaningful initiative, but its efficacy relies on adequate funding, strategic collaborations, and a clear vision to maintain dominance in Low Earth Orbit — the orbital zone closest to the planet and most heavily utilized for satellite communications.

Ongoing support and bipartisan endorsement for LEO projects like NASA’s Artemis program and the Pentagon’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center are essential, and the government must engage closely with emerging players, such as Amazon’s Project Kuiper and others, to leverage their innovations.

Most importantly, the U.S. must capitalize on its dynamic private-sector culture of innovation, affirming our commitment to the civilization that produced these advancements in the first place.

Companies like Amazon, SpaceX, and Palantir are leading these technological transformations due to their foundation in a nation that continues to value risk-taking.

This is why the Trump administration should pursue collaborative partnerships in these crucial sectors, rather than imposing regulations.

Attempting to “protect” certain areas from transformative AI innovations ultimately surrenders advantage to the CCP.

We should invest heavily in the potential of the American populace — rather than impede it.

When I enlisted in the Army in 1982 as a West Point cadet, subsequently commanding a tank platoon in West Germany, the battlefield dynamics and the weapons at our disposal were well-defined.

We were acutely aware of the Soviet tanks and troops we faced and strategized our resources accordingly to discourage aggression.

This fundamental equation is undergoing a profound transformation, and the nature of this change will rely on which coalition of nations secures superiority in AI and space.

The United States triumphed over the Soviet Union and won the arms race of the 20th century.

Now, we must recommit ourselves to prevailing in the new arms race of the 21st century.

Mike Pompeo served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2017 to 2018 and as Secretary of State from 2018 to 2021.