"My primary concern is the risk that authoritarian governments—not solely the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), although the CCP is clearly the most capable threat—build AI models that are more powerful than those built by the US, and use them to achieve permanent military superiority"

I see this sentiment a lot. China is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but since 1979 China has not participated in a single war or supported hostile regimen change operations.

I think Amodei's mistake is to take it granted that USA is a good actor. Anyone can draw their own conclusions but just for reference here are some highlights starting from 1979.

Armed operations in Lebanon (1982-84), Grenada (1983), Libya (1986), the Persian Gulf (1987-88), Panama (1989-90), Iraq and Kuwait (1990-91, with no-fly zones until 2003), Somalia (1992-94), Haiti (1994), Bosnia (1995), Sudan and Afghanistan (1998), Iraq (1998), Serbia (1999), Afghanistan (2001-2021), Iraq (2003-2011, and again from 2014), Pakistan (2004-2018), Somalia (2007 to the present), Yemen (2002 to the present), Libya (2011), Syria (2014 to the present), Iran (2020 and 2025 to the present), and Venezuela and the Caribbean (2025-26).

Regime change operations in Afghanistan (1979-89), Nicaragua (1981-90), Cambodia (1980s), Angola (1985-91), Iraq (1995-98), Serbia (1999-2000), Syria (2013-17), and Venezuela (2019-2025).

The lists do not include the numerous operations by Israel which effectively is part of the same US military hegemony that Amodei is here defending.