The U.S. is pursuing an AI race focused solely on model performance against China, but this strategy may be flawed. Americans increasingly distrust AI and oppose its infrastructure costs, while China has built extensive consumer protections and regulatory frameworks that maintain public trust at 87% versus 23% in the U.S., suggesting that governance and deployment rules—not just capability—determine competitive advantage.
A September 2026 research report tested 18 popular AI models including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and CoPilot on 121 financial questions across pensions, tax, debt, and savings. The models made mistakes 57% of the time on average, raising concerns about AI-delivered financial advice and whether regulatory guardrails on large language models could better protect consumers.