About RaceToWhat.org
The race to build Artificial General Intelligence is the defining technological competition of our era.
Nations, corporations, and research labs are pouring billions of dollars and many of the world’s brightest minds into the effort. Coverage of that race now fills newspapers, podcasts, policy forums, investor briefings, and conference stages.
But almost none of it asks the deeper question:
What happens when someone wins?
RaceToWhat.org exists to explore that question.
AGI is likely not just another powerful technology. If advanced AI systems become capable of improving themselves, accelerating scientific discovery, and designing even more capable successors, the arrival of AGI could mark the beginning of a transition unlike anything in human history. The finish line may not be the end of the race. It may be where the real questions begin.
If the United States reaches AGI before China, what should it do with that advantage? If China wins first, what should the rest of the world expect? Would a winner share the benefits, build global safeguards, seek permanent strategic advantage, or attempt to prevent rivals from reaching the same threshold?
RaceToWhat.org tracks the race to AGI, but our core work is asking what comes after: what winning means for geopolitics, the economy, work, education, warfare, democracy, and the future of human control.
What We Cover
The Leaderboard tracks AI capability in real time: the United States vs. China, open source vs. closed systems, company vs. company, lab by lab.
Race Dispatch covers the race as it unfolds: breakthroughs, setbacks, corporate strategy, government action, and the geopolitical moves shaping the outcome.
Governing the Race examines who is trying to regulate this competition, what international frameworks are emerging, and who may be using the race dynamic to escape accountability.
After the Race is our core work: scenario analysis and strategic foresight about what happens if AGI creates a decisive strategic advantage. We examine how intelligence itself may become the primary source of power, and what that could mean for nations, companies, institutions, and humanity.
Our Story
RaceToWhat.org is a project of Safe AI Society, Inc., a nonprofit founded in Portland, Oregon in February 2019, before the AI race dominated public attention.
Safe AI Society began with a simple premise: decisions being made about advanced AI would help shape the future of humanity, and the public deserved a serious, independent voice to help understand what was at stake.
In 2019, many AI experts assumed human-level AI was likely decades away. The concern felt distant, perhaps something for our children or grandchildren to confront. Then the timeline compressed. Large language models arrived. Frontier labs accelerated. Governments began to pay attention. The question stopped being theoretical.
Those early concerns have now become urgent:
Where is this race going, and what happens when we get there?
RaceToWhat.org is built to help answer that question.
About the Founder
Jon Down founded Safe AI Society in 2019 and serves as lead analyst and editor of RaceToWhat.org.
Jon is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and AI at the University of Portland, where he works at the intersection of technology, strategy, entrepreneurship, and the future of human institutions. He is known for helping students, executives, and civic leaders understand complex technological change and think clearly about its consequences.
He holds a PhD in Strategy from the University of Washington, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a BS in Engineering from Oregon State University.
Jon also works with senior leaders and organizations on the strategic implications of AI through his consulting practice, Gen AI Corp.
A Nonprofit Publication
RaceToWhat.org is published by Safe AI Society, Inc., an Oregon nonprofit currently applying for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.
All content is free to access. Our mission is to help citizens, leaders, and institutions think clearly about one of the most consequential transitions in human history before that transition fully arrives.
If you believe this work matters, we would love to hear from you.