The "knowledge equality" brought by AI,

The fastest impact is on China, South Korea, and Japan in the Confucian cultural sphere.

They have a higher pricing for "knowledge/examination/mentorship/authority" - so once the "marginal cost of acquiring and applying knowledge" is breached by AI, the impact is more like "the foundation being pulled out."

Why the Confucian cultural sphere may be influenced more quickly

1) The exchange rate of knowledge ≈ status is higher.
China, South Korea, and Japan have long been typical "education competitive societies": degrees, exams, qualifications, and standard answers are all common social filters.
After AI turns "explanation, example questions, grading, coaching, summarizing, writing frameworks, code templates" into resources that are readily available, the starting line for individuals is leveled somewhat, which will directly dilute the advantages originally dependent on "resource differences" (famous teachers, tutoring, information gaps, question banks).
2) Authoritative knowledge structures are more easily "demystified".
In Confucian culture, "teachers/seniors/superiors" not only impart knowledge but also carry order and legitimacy.
Once AI demonstrates greater patience, reproducibility, and verifiability in a wide range of scenarios, many people will naturally form:
"Why do I have to 'listen to you'? I can let AI first compare, break down, ask questions, and find evidence for me."
This will shift authority from "identity authority" to "verifiable capability authority."

3) Language and localization make the impact more concentrated.
The languages of China, Japan, and South Korea are relatively closed, and in the past, high-quality resources were often blocked by the "language barrier." Now, large models make translation, summarization, local expression, and contrastive learning too easy, essentially plugging in an "external knowledge base" directly. For these three countries, this is an added supply, rather than just a slight increase in an already open supply.