Every year, the OECD Forum brings together experts, academics and thought leaders from the private and public sector to discuss key economic and social challenges on the international agenda. The theme of this year's Forum was "World in EMotion" – a theme that reflects the profound changes brought about by globalisation, shifting politics and digitalisation, and the challenges and opportunities that they present. Nowhere are these changes more rapid – and perhaps far-reaching – than in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), and its implications for values and ethics. I attended a very interesting panel on this subject, alongside Peter Gluckman, Chair of the International Network for Government Science Advice in New Zealand; Geoff Mulgan, Chief Executive of NESTA in the UK; Eric Salobir head of Optic; Pallaw Sharma, Senior Vice President at Johnson & Johnson; and Jess Whittlestone, Research Associate at the Centre for the Future of Intelligence at Cambridge University. As Pallaw explained, technology and AI are not magic powers; they are just extraordinary amplifiers and accelerators that add speed and accuracy.

The European Commission's Joint Research Center released a report that explores the European perspective on artificial intelligence (AI), along with the global AI landscape's state of play. The report recognizes the value of AI across industry, but while acknowledging the fierce competition on AI taking place between the EU, China, and the United States, it ultimately dismisses the need for Europe to win this global race, arguing instead that for the EU, the more important goal is focusing on developing values and ethics in AI. This is a naive perspective, especially given that China is not only fiercely competing on developing AI, but also aspiring to dominate in AI so as to compete in industries where Europe is leading today. Ironically, even if the EU's first priority is to shape the values and ethics of AI, it will be severely limited in its ability to do so if it is not leading the development and adoption of this technology. Europe would be wrong to forget that any competition involves winner and losers--and more often than not, the winners are those who compete with gusto.