To describe the uncontrolled adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) as a “mixed blessing” is a grotesque understatement. It is better termed a miscalculated risk that reflects the world’s present sad and potentially tragic lack of responsible leadership, in Western nations especially. On the one hand, we are assured AI will raise productivity and economic growth. It will be a particular blessing for developing countries, such as those in Asia, enabling them to leapfrog the centuries it took...