Tools and Weapons: The Promise and The Peril of the Digital Age

by Brad Smith

According to Kai-Fu, AI will benefit from a similar network effect on steroids, with AI leading to increased concentration of power in nearly every sector of the economy. The company in any sector that most effectively deploys AI will gain the most data about its customers and create the strongest feedback loop. In one scenario, the outcome could be even worse. Data could be locked up and processed by a few giant tech companies, while every other economic sector relies on these companies for their AI services. Over time, this would likely lead to an enormous transfer of economic wealth from other industrial sectors to these AI leaders. And if, as Kai-Fu projects, these companies are located mostly on the east coast of China and the west coast of the United States, then these two areas will benefit at every other region’s expense.