The three countries are leading an artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, Malcolm Frank, head of strategy at leading outsourcing firm Cognizant, told CNNMoney in an interview. Frank is the co-author of a recent book entitled "What to Do When Machines Do Everything," on the impact artificial intelligence will have on the global economy in the coming years. "I think it's three horses in the race, and that's probably the wrong metaphor because they are all going to win," he said. "They are just going to win differently." While AI is progressing quickly elsewhere too, Frank said the other development hotspots are mainly city hubs such as London and Stockholm, or far smaller economies such as Estonia.

Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX's CEO wasn't making doomsday predictions because North Korea is testing nuclear weapons. What's got Musk much more worried about world war is artificial intelligence. North Korea "should be low on our list of concerns for civilizational existential risk," Musk said in one of a series of posts on Twitter (TWTR, Tech30) early Monday. "Competition for AI superiority at national level most likely cause of WW3 imo," Musk said in another tweet, using the Internet short-hand for "in my opinion." The dire prediction was in response to a recent comment from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

When it comes to making machines to perform tasks that humans have done for years, the United States, China and India are far ahead of anyone else, according to a top tech industry executive. The three countries are leading an artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, Malcolm Frank, head of strategy at leading outsourcing firm Cognizant, told CNNMoney in an interview. Frank is the co-author of a recent book entitled "What to Do When Machines Do Everything," on the impact artificial intelligence will have on the global economy in the coming years. "I think it's three horses in the race, and that's probably the wrong metaphor because they are all going to win," he said. "They are just going to win differently."

The world's leading artificial intelligence experts are sounding the alarm on killer robots. Tesla (TSLA) boss Elon Musk is among a group of 116 founders of robotics and artificial intelligence companies who are calling on the United Nations to ban autonomous weapons. "Lethal autonomous weapons threaten to become the third revolution in warfare. Once developed, they will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend," the experts warn in an open letter released Monday. "These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways," the letter says.

Artificial intelligence is no exception. Beijing laid out a timeline on Friday for when it expects the country to become a global leader in the frontier technology. By 2020, China's AI technologies and research facilities will match other leading countries, said Li Meng, the vice minister of science and technology. Five years later, he expects "a big breakthrough," and then China should finally become the global "innovation center for AI" by 2030. The remarks at a press conference expand on a policy statement released by China's State Council on Thursday, which set out goals to build a domestic artificial intelligence industry worth nearly $150 billion in the next few years.

Google artificial intelligence unit DeepMind teamed up with Chinese authorities to hold a five-day festival in the country this week focused on the ancient game of Go. The centerpiece of the event is a three-game contest pitting a DeepMind computer program against China's world Go champion, Ke Jie -- all of it livestreamed on Google's YouTube. Just one problem: Chinese Go fans couldn't watch the first game on Tuesday because the YouTube livestream was blocked in China. DeepMind's AlphaGo program won by just half a point. Major Chinese news websites were prepared to livestream the game, but the plans were suddenly canceled, according to people with knowledge of the plans who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Here's what some big western companies are called in China China's Tencent has joined the exclusive $300 billion club. Tencent shares closed at a record high of 248.40 Hong Kong dollars (just under $32) on Tuesday, valuing the company at more than $302 billion. Tencent (TCEHY) joins Apple (AAPL, Tech30) and Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL, Tech30) in the ranks of the world's biggest firms by market capitalization. It's the only firm outside the U.S. among the world's top 10 most valuable companies, and is now nipping at the heels of JPMorgan (JPM), which is currently worth $309 billion. Tencent isn't the first Chinese company to achieve the eye-popping number.

The company's widely touted artificial intelligence tool Bixby -- seen as a rival for Apple's (AAPL, Tech30) Siri -- won't be fully operational in time for the U.S. release of the Galaxy S8. While some elements of Bixby will be included in the April 21 launch, the headline voice activation feature won't be available in the U.S. until "later this spring," Samsung (SSNLF) said in a statement. The delay is an embarrassing hiccup for Samsung. The rollout of the tech giant's first high-end smartphone since the debacle over its fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 is being closely watched. After a bungled recall that cost the company more than $5 billion and ultimately led it to kill off of the Note 7, analysts have said Samsung needs a flawless launch for the S8.

Do you think Twitter elected Donald Trump?" a high profile tech exec asked me moments after Trump won. Of course, Twitter didn't cast a vote -- people all around the country chose to elect Trump -- but it's impossible to look at this election without analyzing the internet's role in shaping it. There were fake news stories trending on Facebook; Twitter bots that trolled users by the thousands; and Wikileaks emails that showed how hackers can influence the election. Tech platforms took on a different shape and wielded a new power. There has never been a more important time for tech leaders to own their platforms, understand the implications of algorithms, and engage in the challenging conversations about exactly what their roles are. Justin Kan, Y Combinator partner and Twitch founder, acknowledged an insular mindset in Silicon Valley, one that has made it harder for tech leaders to understand or relate to those who feel disenfranchised. New technologies like self-driving cars will have a huge impact on people who worked as cabbies or truck drivers -- and Silicon Valley wasn't prepared to offer solutions. "Are those people going to lose their jobs?

When Mark Zuckerberg wants an AI assistant, he recruits the "Voice of God." The Facebook (FB, Tech30) CEO and cofounder posted a video teasing an artificial intelligence application on Tuesday that he built for his home, voiced by none other than actor Morgan Freeman. In October, Zuckerberg asked his followers for suggestions to be the voice for Jarvis, his AI tool inspired by Iron Man. Freeman was a top pick. Zuckerberg personally called Freeman to ask him to do it.