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Artificial intelligence
OpinionWorld Opinion
Andrew Sheng
Opinion
Andrew Sheng

In the age of AI, we must learn to act before the future is clear

Many questions about AI, from the outcome of the AI race to speculation about an AI bubble, need more time to be answered. Uncertainty is the new normal

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A woman looks at the window of a company advertising AI ahead of the annual meeting of the World Economy Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 17. Photo: AP
Andrew Sheng
Andrew Sheng is a former central banker and financial regulator, currently distinguished fellow at the Asia Global Institute, University of Hong Kong.
The subject of artificial intelligence (AI) has become so prevalent in global discourse that the recent World Economic Forum in Davos reportedly had more than 200 sessions for corporate leaders to discuss AI from multiple angles. The conversations focused on five key themes: AI and technology’s role in geopolitical rivalry; AI as a productivity and growth driver; AI as a job disrupter; ethics and governance for generative AI and robot systems; and AI’s environmental footprint.
Underlying these themes are questions often asked by the average person. Will the US or China win the AI race? Is there an AI bubble, or is it overstated? How can companies and nations use AI to create, coordinate and capture value for both individuals and collective humanity?

First, the answer to who will win the AI race is at best an opinion and not a matter of fact because the facts are not yet fully known and are changing by the day. AI relies on machine-readable data, and if the data is wrong, the conclusions are wrong.

Relying on AI to interpret a real world that is far more complex and dynamic than any theory, with random factors that are seldom factored in, means that we cannot know for sure ahead of time what the future will bring, even with the best machine or expert analysis. We simply must accept that the interactively dynamic future creates multiple options with a whole range of outcomes. No one is fully in control of our future.

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