Trend

International AI Race

Given the economic potential of AI, countries around the globe are competing to develop the best model. witsarut sakorn/Getty Images.

About This Trend

A growing number of countries are competing in the race to develop artificial intelligence (AI) by investing in local tech companies and resources. France, India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and others are betting on AI by boosting domestic development. The U.S. currently leads in this field, with the Trump administration in January 2025 announcing $100 billion in AI investment by three top tech firms through the Stargate project, though China is also making rapid advancements. At the same time, the U.S. government has expanded the domestic production of microchips and urged its allies to take action restricting China's access to this essential technology.

As AI-related technologies intensify energy and water demand, planners will become increasingly involved in ensuring equitable resource distribution and advocating for community interests. Additionally, planners can play a role in establishing partnerships with the private sector to support the application of AI tools in the planning and local government sectors. To learn more about the responsible use of AI in planning, read PAS Report 604, Planning With Artificial Intelligence, and the APA blog post "Planning Ethics and Generative AI."

Trend Updates

Jan. 27, 2026 — 2025 Updates

Alongside a January 2025 U.S. executive order pushing for America to become the global leader of AI innovation, many countries are increasing their investment in their own AI programs and companies as American tech company operations become less reliable.

China is allocating billions of dollars to AI start-ups as a counter to the U.S.’s huge stake in the market. DeepSeek, China’s open-source Gen AI model, was released in January 2025, causing a huge disruption in the market.

In 2025, 50 African nations signed the Africa Declaration of Artificial Intelligence, which seeks to position the continent as a future global leader in AI and use AI to improve Africans’ quality of life.