Here’s what’s on our plate today:

• 🧠 The Laboratory: Can China set the global AI rules?

• 🗞️ Lithium via AI, parents having AI kids, and brain science vs. LLMs.

• 🧰 Weekend To-Do: 3 tools for energy, avatars, and AI feedback.

• 📊 Should a single country lead global AI governance?

Let’s dive in. No floaties needed…

The Laboratory

What is the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization?

Different eras in human history are categorized by periods where humans either made technological advancements, or when they learnt how to collectivize the benefits of technology. Early human history is often denoted by the prevalent use of materials that made technological advancements possible.

First it was the Iron Age, then the Bronze Age, and so on.

Naturally, when Silicon Valley was established in the U.S., the assumption was that the era of computers had arrived. Today, Silicon Valley and the broader San Francisco Bay Area are widely considered the global epicenter of AI innovation and are home to the headquarters and major research labs of many of the world's largest and most influential AI companies.

However, while the technology is being developed here, if the current Chinese government has its way, the epicenter for the global cooperation on AI may be based in Shanghai, far away from the U.S. and the EU.

What is China’s vision for a global AI body?

In November 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping used his appearance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders meeting to promote a plan for a global organization that would oversee artificial intelligence and to present China as a counterweight to the United States on trade.

During the meeting, the Chinese President proposed establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) to serve as a global platform for coordinating AI development, governance rules, and technical standards across countries.

This was the first time that China proposed such an initiative, and it comes at a time when the United States has pushed back against attempts to shape AI rules through international organizations.

What was proposed at APEC 2025?

At the meeting, Xi told the gathered leaders that the proposed organization would offer the world shared AI resources by coordinating development plans, governance principles, and technical standards.

Chinese officials have suggested that the group might be headquartered in Shanghai, putting it outside the usual Western centers of influence.

Xi said the goal was to narrow what he called the digital and AI divide in the Asia Pacific region, stressing that AI should benefit all nations and regions and should contribute to the well-being of humanity as a whole.

It is important to note that the United States President Donald Trump was not present, giving Xi more room to dominate the event and cast China as a supporter of broad international cooperation.

While this may have encouraged the Chinese government to try to sideline the U.S., a key proposal included encouraging APEC members to support the open movement of green technologies and related products.

The proposal is important because it puts focus on the need for closer collaboration between nations to shift the onus of powering strong AI models to renewable sources of energy. These would include batteries, solar panels, and other clean energy hardware.

And while all the proposals sound impressive and plausible on paper, implementation may not be the best solution.

Why does China want global cooperation?

The Chinese President has a point when it comes to global cooperation. The need for cooperation stems from AI’s massive energy needs to power the systems that live in enormous data centers packed with high-performance chips.

These facilities burn through electricity at a staggering pace. Some analysts warn that AI data centers could soon consume as much power as all of Japan.

This is where green energy comes in. If the world wants this technology to grow without driving emissions through the roof, it will need massive amounts of clean power: solar, wind, and big industrial batteries to store it.

China’s pitch for global cooperation will put it in a controlling position since it manufactures close to 80% of the world’s solar panels and controls most of the supply chain for the batteries that store renewable energy.

So when Xi Jinping addressed APEC leaders, along with the push for an AI governance framework, he also encouraged APEC countries to support the open flow of green technologies and related products.

He also highlighted the need for deeper collaboration on batteries, solar panels, and other clean energy equipment. As such, while China is proposing to help countries secure clean power for their AI ambitions, it will be looking for collaboration on shaping the rules for the AI systems that will run on that power.

As such, China is set to host the 2026 APEC summit in Shenzhen, which Xi described as a major center for robotic manufacturing and electric vehicle production, giving Beijing an advantageous position heading into the next round of talks.

Why does China's proposal appeal to the Global South?

Creating a global AI organization would help China shape international rules instead of following Western ones. It also gives developing countries an alternative framework to join, one that could favor China’s standards.

For countries like India, which produces about 20% of the world’s data, yet controls only around 3% of the world’s data centers, China’s proposal presents an opportunity to close the gap between generating and utilizing data.

The country is also struggling with a computing disparity, where its peak computing power clocks in at roughly 40 petaflops, a figure that is tiny compared with the United States’ roughly 6,696 petaflops.

That gulf in raw processing capacity limits India’s ability to train large AI models domestically or to support compute-intensive tasks at scale. Compounding the problem, India imports a large share of its semiconductors and advanced chips, creating strategic and supply-chain vulnerabilities that can be exposed by export controls, trade disputes, or production bottlenecks abroad.

Collaborating with the Chinese government on not just the hardware but also on less intensive models like those from DeepSeek could help it solve complex issues.

The story is similar for many countries in the Global South, which explains why they may be interested in China’s call for global cooperation that benefits its local industries.

Apart from benefiting China, the proposal could also impact how AI rules are written around the world.

China’s AI governance vs. Western models

China’s own AI regulations have changed over the years. At first, companies mostly regulated themselves. Later, the government introduced specific rules for algorithms and generative AI. Its most recent framework, AI Safety Governance 2.0, focuses heavily on controlling content, maintaining social stability, and reinforcing party oversight, along with technical safety.

A global organization shaped by China would reflect these priorities. These stand in contrast with the EU’s focus on human rights and transparency, or the United States’ more market-driven approach.

For developing countries, the choice of which system to follow has real consequences. Right now, only a handful of countries are actively involved in major AI governance efforts.

Meanwhile, many, mostly in the Global South, have almost no say in setting the rules for technologies that will shape their economies.

China offers them a seat at the table, though it may come with trade-offs, including less emphasis on openness, privacy, or bottom-up innovation.

Is WAICO the right answer?

The trend of naming eras in human history on material may be coming to a close due to the dominance of one material: Silicon.

In the post-information age, made possible by Silicon, it is important for humans around the world to come to a consensus on the future of AI, not just how it is developed and used. But also on how to mitigate its impact on the planet.

Right now, the countries around the world are faced with varied choices, and now they have the option of WAICO.

However, if humanity were to heed the warnings of the godfather of AI, Joffrey Hinton, it would make sure that any global organization that can shape the future of AI is not controlled by either one nation or a closed group of nations that can continue to veto decisions when it comes to making difficult choices.

TL;DR

• China pitched WAICO, a global AI governance body, at APEC.

• It wants to shape rules, share green tech, and host it in Shanghai.

• The Global South sees opportunity, but critics see influence play.

• WAICO contrasts Western AI values: less privacy, more control.

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Weekend To-Do

• Knostic: Lets you audit and enforce access controls over AI systems to avoid data leaks or misuse.

• Runpod: Launch any open‑source model quickly in the cloud, perfect to tinker, test, or build your own without heavy infrastructure.

• Holistic AI Tracker: Stay up to date on global AI policy, regulatory changes, compliance news, useful for anyone watching AI geopolitics or building responsibly.

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