China nearly erases US lead in AI as Stanford report reveals widening gap between experts and public
Stanford's 2026 AI Index Report shows China has nearly closed the performance gap with US AI models, narrowing the lead to just 2.7%. While the US invested $285.9 billion in AI in 2025, the flow of AI researchers moving to America has dropped 89% since 2017. Meanwhile, documented AI incidents rose to 362, and public anxiety about AI's impact on jobs and elections continues to grow.