I've been a technology activist for decades now, and I've read innumerable profound and enduring critiques of technology. In recent years, though, artificial intelligence has come under more fire than most developing trends. The pronouncements, hype, and foolishness surrounding it have risen to heights that stand out even by the outlandish standards of tech absurdity. Like me, you've probably encountered some of the better, smarter critiques along with all the silliness and insanity. Some of the greats are Cathy O'Neil's outstanding 2016 book Weapons of Math Destruction, and the excellent research reports from the nonprofit AI Now institute, and also Patrick Ball's spectacular papers published through the essential and dreadfully under-resourced Human Rights Data Analysis Group.

The promise of artificial intelligence is immense, but the roadmap to achieving those goals still remains unclear. Onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt SF, some of AI's leading minds shared their thoughts on current competition in the market, how to ensure algorithms don't perpetuate racism and the future of human-machine interaction. The meteoric rise in China's focus on AI has been well-documented and has become impossible to ignore these days. With mega companies like Alibaba and Tencent pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into home-grown businesses, American companies are finding less and less room to navigate and expand in China. AI investor and Sinnovation CEO Kai-Fu Lee described China as living in a "parallel universe" to the U.S. when it comes to AI development.