Yeah, I'm expecting that Opus 4.8/5.5 tier will be the best models we have access to without having to provide more ID than just credit card info. If that happens, it'll end my brief stint of paying for these models instead of working within the bounds of local ones.
Don't worry, China and other countries won't be so dumb with their models.
Are we assuming that any country that achieves the AI supremacy will be benevolent? Every country has its own goals, and they're not always aligned with what's best for the humanity.
Chinese models are free and open because it hurts the US-based competitor, not because China is some benevolent entity.
"and other countries" - kind of a short list, that.
"Don't worry the ethno-nationalist authoritarian adversarial state will save us"