I just realized that the GenAI craze is like the modern version of Ronald Reagan’s Star Wars project, but somehow both countries got fooled into pouring money into a colossal folly.

That’s a good point. I was listening to a YouTube podcast on the topic and the hosts did say international competition is the primary reason for developing AI. US rationale is that even if they want to regulate AI, the “bad guy” won’t so it’s better to develop it first before the bad guys. They made the same comparison with the Manhattan Project and the race to beat the Axis from developing nukes.