Helen Toner spoke at the 2026 Aspen Ideas Festival in June. She joined Alvin Wang Graylin and Melanie Hart in a panel discussion. The panel was moderated by Vivian Schiller. The topic of the discussion was "The AI Race: If We Don’t, China Will." The discussion covered developments in the global AI competition and the differing approaches taken by China and the U.S. to the technology.

CSET Executive Director Helen Toner spoke on a panel at the 2026 Aspen Ideas Festival in June regarding "The AI Race: If We Don’t, China Will." She participated alongside Global Technology Strategist Alvin Wang Graylin and Melanie Hart, senior director at the Atlantic Council Global China Hub. The discussion featured moderation by Vivian Schiller, executive director of Aspen Digital. The conversation focused on the latest developments in the global AI competition, specifically examining the strengths and weaknesses in how China and the United States approach the technology.

The framing of the global AI competition is presented through a comparative lens of national strategies between China and the U.S., positioning the race as an urgent geopolitical concern. The structure suggests an acknowledgement that the narrative surrounding AI development is not monolithic, allowing for discussions on divergent strategic approaches. The underlying pattern is the necessity of contextualizing technological competition within geopolitical realities; the risk highlighted by the title implies a zero-sum dynamic where inaction results in a specific outcome. This framing invites scrutiny into which metrics—technological capability versus strategic alignment—dominate the perceived narrative of the "race." Who benefits from this specific framing, and what are the unstated assumptions about the relationship between technological competition and geopolitical outcomes that underpin the panel's focus? What alternative lenses regarding AI governance or development priorities might be excluded by this competitive viewpoint?