What the cold war space race can teach us on AI

International agreement could curb the fight for supremacy in today’s most ambitious technology

Nasa chief Bill Nelson thinks the world is in a new “space race.” Much of the national security establishment as well as many technology leaders think we’re also in an “AI arms race”. The combination seems daunting — the cold war spectre of the former certainly haunts true believers in the latter. But in drawing lessons from that era, we should not dwell on the innovation that put a man on the Moon but rather on the international legal and diplomatic achievements that ensured it did not become an act of war. President John F Kennedy’s bold vision for space exploration began as a propaganda ploy, designed to display American might. But chastened by the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy the cold war hawk eventually channelled his ambitions into statesmanship.

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