---
title: "Clocks of diffusion: what it means · The AI Compute Race · DRYBURGH"
source: https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/clocks-of-diffusion
description: "Clocks of diffusion: The three rates, measured in chapter 1, at which a frontier lead spreads to rivals."
---

# Clocks of diffusion

What does “Clocks of diffusion” mean?

Clocks of diffusionThe three rates, measured in chapter 1, at which a frontier lead spreads to rivals. They are frontier turnover from model to model at the American frontier, capability catch-up by open-weight models, and the national frontier lag of China’s frontier behind America’s. *Chapter 1.*

From *The AI Compute Race*. [Read the book](https://dryburgh.com/vol1#buy)

The book uses this term in a sense of its own.

## Where the book uses it

- [Chapter 1 — The Stakes](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/notes/chapter-1)What the race is for: the belief that a lead in AI can compound into a lasting advantage, how long such leads have actually lasted, and what a trillion dollars a year is being bet against.

## Also discussed in

- Dated test [Chapters 1 and 12, the second route](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/tests#2028-2)

## Related terms

- [National frontier lag](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/national-frontier-lag)
- [Capability catch-up](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/capability-catch-up)
- [Frontier turnover](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/frontier-turnover)
- [Frontier](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/frontier)
- [Clock](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/clock)
- [Algorithmic efficiency](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/algorithmic-efficiency)
- [Application layer](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/application-layer)
- [Arsenal behind every arsenal](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/arsenal-behind-every-arsenal)
- [Capital expenditure](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/capital-expenditure)
- [Cluster](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/cluster)
- [Epoch AI](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/epoch-ai)
- [Exclusive generation](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/exclusive-generation)

From the glossary of The AI Compute Race.

- [Campuses](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/ledger)
- [Tests](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/tests)
- [Scorecard](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/scorecard)
- [Data](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/data/releases)
- [Chapter by chapter](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/companion)
- [The record at a glance](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/observatory)
- [The machine](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/machine)
- [One campus, four futures](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/hyperion)
- [Glossary](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary)
- [People](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/people)
- [Sources](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/sources)
- [Notes](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/notes)
- [Where the book was wrong](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/corrections)
- [Where its sources were wrong](https://dryburgh.com/corrections?book=vol1)
- [The Paper](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/paper)
- [Consent](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/consent)
- [Who builds and pays](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/parties)

*The AI Compute Race: Five Races, One Machine* is a book by Lee S. Dryburgh, the first volume of THE COMPUTE ECONOMY, published by Dryburgh, an imprint of Contestra OÜ, Tallinn, Estonia; its record closes on 8 November 2026.

[About the book](https://dryburgh.com/vol1)[Tell me when it is out](https://dryburgh.com/vol1#notify)