And if governments don't act? Mr Tallinn thinks it's possible to "apply the existing technology, regulation, knowledge and regulatory frameworks" to the current generation of AI, but says the "big worry" is letting the technology race ahead without society adapting: "Then we are in a lot of trouble."

Very bad idea. Society needs to adapt to changing technology, not the other way round. Crippling advancements in AI would be akin to preventing research into gunpowder weapons due to fears of disrupting the feudal system. Or preventing the Industrial Revolution because of all of the unskilled labour that was displaced. That would be incredibly short sighted.

You might succeed in slowing advancement for a few years, at the cost of international competitors overtaking us. If other jurisdictions like the EU want to shoot themselves in the foot and more heavily regulate emerging technologies such as AI, biotechnology, etc. then we should see that as an opportunity.