The Robotics Cold War

The 21st century will not be defined by oil, but by robotics. In this urgent and provocative analysis, best-selling economist Bruno Bianchini argues that the nation that masters the fusion of artificial intelligence and physical machines will not just lead the global economy-it will dominate the world. We are in the opening stages of a new global conflict: The Robotics Cold War. And the West is losing.
While Western nations debate the ethics of automation, China is building robot armies. Through a riveting combination of on-the-ground reporting, sharp economic analysis, and cinematic storytelling, Bianchini reveals the breathtaking speed and scale of China's "Robotic Blitzkrieg." Readers are taken inside Shenzhen's hyper-efficient supercluster, where prototypes are built in days, and into the "dark factories" where swarms of AI-driven robots work 24/7, making human labor obsolete. Bianchini exposes how China has systematically weaponized the supply chain, cornering the market on rare earths-the new oil-and executing a brilliant hybrid strategy of state subsidies and ferocious competition to outmaneuver its rivals.
The Robotics Cold War is a global investigation that charts this new battlefield:

• Europe's Decline: Through a chilling case study of the takeover of German icon KUKA, Bianchini details Europe's symbolic betrayal-a continent trading its industrial sovereignty for short-term profit, becoming a museum of past glories.
• America's Paradox: The book dissects America's slow awakening, celebrating its brilliant frontier innovation from DARPA to Tesla, while exposing the self-inflicted wounds of regulatory gridlock and a fragile, outsourced supply chain that have led to a decade of stagnant productivity.
• The Rise of the Wildcard: Bianchini identifies India as the critical emerging power, a democratic wildcard whose engineering talent and "Make in India" ambitions could fundamentally alter the global balance of power.