Artificial Intelligence And The Challenge Of Global Governance

Apple Park, the corporate HQ of Apple Inc., located in California. Digitalization is evolving from an economic challenge to a governance and political problem. Some studies suggest that by 2030, Artificial Intelligence (AI) might contribute up to EUR 13.33 trillion to the global economy (more than the current output of China and India combined). The essence of the political conflict that raises the issue of global governance is what type of actor (a state or a digital corporation) will lead this process, creating global asymmetry in terms of trade, information flows, social structures and political power. This means challenging the international system as we know it. AI is generating new large-scale systems based on (1) services (such as traffic management and smart vehicles, international banking systems, and new healthcare ecosystems); (2) global value chains, the Internet of things (IoT) and robotics (Industry 4.0); and (3) electronics with a new generation of microprocessors and highly specialized chips.