Robots’ muscles and brains: Will China have the lead?

THE retreat in US technology shares after the midterms has revived a familiar question. Are expectations for artificial intelligence running ahead of returns?

The sell-off spread to Chinese and Hong Kong shares as investors reassessed the AI trade. In its initial public offering filing, Anthropic argued that AI could transform the economy on a scale greater than electricity or the Internet. 

The bills for chips, power and data centres are due now, and investors want to know how long they will wait for that transformation.