Which Countries Are Leading The Data Economy? - AI Summary

The new world order taking shape is likely to be more complex than a simple bi-polar structure, especially since data is being produced at a pace that boggles the mind. For one, we recognize that the digital trace that is generated by computers around the world spans a very wide range of activities, from sending an SMS text message to making a financial transaction. That said, we acknowledge that in the near-term there could be some countries – China being the pre-eminent example – where data-sharing between public and private sector agencies with very little mobility beyond the national borders could violate privacy and openness norms and yet yield a temporary advantage in training algorithms inside a "walled garden." If one were to take the point of view that the biggest and highest impact AI applications are the ones that serve the greatest public purpose, access to data is key. While the U.S. scores well on all three criteria – and this might seem counter-intuitive to prevailing wisdom -- China operates with a handicap if global accessibility of the data is considered essential for creating successful AI applications in the future.