This year has been the breakout one for artificial intelligence. AI talk is now everywhere, from businesses and schools to Hollywood and election campaigns. Even as some investors complain of AI fatigue, a riveting drama explodes over the leadership of OpenAI — arguably, the most prominent of players at the technology’s frontiers — bringing our attention back to the many unresolved issues around AI. Meanwhile, there is no escaping its enormous potential. Generative AI alone could affect 300 million jobs and create as much as $4.4 trillion annually in new economic value worldwide, according to some analysts. It is not just the tech powers in competition to capture the value; there is a global race among nations for AI leadership — an emerging geography of AI.
Charting the Emerging Geography of AI
An analysis of the 25 global AI leaders reveals which countries are pulling ahead — and the drivers behind their advantage.
December 12, 2023
HBR Staff; oxygen/Getty Images; Unsplash
Summary.
As the AI power centers emerge and shift around the world, they will shape which AI applications are prioritized, which societies and sectors of the economy get the most benefits, what data are used to train algorithms, and which biases get included and which get neutralized — and how we balance accelerating AI innovation against building in safeguards. The authors present an index of the 25 countries that are vying for global leadership on AI — and the factors that determine which nations will pull ahead.