Many think the artificial-intelligence revolution will be at least as big and transformative as the Industrial Revolution – and certainly faster. But geopolitical rivalries mean that governments are unlikely to agree on how to maximize AI's benefits and limit its potential harms. In this Big Picture, Eric Schmidt, a former CEO of Google/Alphabet and Chair of the US National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, argues that democracies must come together to maintain AI leadership in the face of China's increasingly authoritarian challenge. But while regions and countries will differ in their attitudes and visions regarding AI, notes Kai-Fu Lee of Sinovation Ventures, they must try to work together to reach practical solutions. Frank-Jürgen Richter of Horasis emphasizes that ensuring increased adoption and balanced implementation of AI technology will also be crucial to emerging markets' long-term economic growth and development.

CAMBRIDGE – We live in a world with an ever-widening chasm between the skills of the "average" worker and the capabilities demanded by frontier technologies. Robots, software, and artificial intelligence have increased corporate profits and raised demand for skilled professionals. But they replace factory, sales, and clerical workers – hollowing out the traditional middle class. This "skills gap" contributes to deepening economic inequality and insecurity and ultimately to political polarization – the signal problems of our time. Germany's Federal Constitutional Court, heedless of the political consequences for Europe and Germany, has issued a ruling that risks sacrificing the euro and possibly even the European Union.

LONDON – Artificial intelligence (AI) is all around us, generating excitement about how it could increase prosperity and transform our lives in multiple ways. Yet the technology is also likely to be disruptive. Policymakers and businesses must therefore try to capture the full value of what AI has to offer, while avoiding the downside risks. The idea of AI has been around for more than a half-century, and we have lived through previous periods of excitement followed by long stretches of disappointment – "AI winters" – when the tech didn't live up to the hype. But recent progress in AI algorithms and techniques, combined with a massive increase in computing power and an explosion in the amount of available data, has driven significant and tangible advances, promising to generate value for individuals, businesses, and society as a whole.

Likewise, I am convinced that the revolution in artificial intelligence will enable computers and robots to do many of the tasks that white-collar workers now do. It's not surprising, therefore, that many people are worried about the fate of those whose jobs are vulnerable -- or have already been lost -- to the latest disruptive technology. What will happen to the millions of men and women who now drive trucks and taxis when the trucks and taxis can drive themselves? What will happen to the accountants and health workers when computers can do their jobs? Some analysts have estimated that, with many fewer employees needed to produce the current volume of goods and services, a large share of current employment could be made redundant.