For years, a debate has been simmering in Silicon Valley over the right way to build artificial intelligence. Should it be open and free for anyone to use, or should we tightly control how it’s made and who can access it?
Mike Isaac, who covers technology for The New York Times, explains why the release of two Chinese models pushed that debate to a boiling point this week, and how it could end up reshaping the future of A.I.
Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/mike-isaac" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mike Isaac</a>, a New York Times reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area, covering tech companies and Silicon Valley.
Background reading: 
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/25/technology/open-source-silicon-valley-china.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Silicon Valley splits</a> over closing the borders to Chinese A.I.</li>
 <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/technology/open-weight-ai.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">What is open-weights A.I.?</a></li>
</ul>
Photo: Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" rel="noopener noreferrer">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 
Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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