LARRY WARD: Don’t ‘Sputnik’ AI—lead with wisdom, not fear

The emergence of DeepSeek has prompted calls for America's 'Sputnik moment' in AI development. But this reactive comparison dangerously misses the point. While the space race was about reaching physical destinations first, the AI race is about wielding transformative power responsibly. The stakes aren't about who gets there first, but who develops AI that serves rather than subjugates humanity.

The Sputnik moment galvanized America into a space race focused on clear, measurable achievements: higher orbits, faster rockets, footprints on the moon. But artificial intelligence isn't a race to a physical destination – it's the development of a transformative power that will reshape human society itself. We're not building rockets; we're developing systems that will think alongside humanity, make decisions affecting millions, and potentially reshape the very fabric of civilization. The metrics of success cannot be measured in mere computational power or model parameters.