The key to which country currently takes the lead in the global tussle in AI and other technological forefronts can be boiled down to some fundamentals, while China is pushing the boundaries in this Sputnik Moment, it still lags behind the U.S. in this global tussle.

Timing is everything. Mere days after Google CEO Sundar Pichai's surprise appearance at China's annual internet conference, Google announced that it is opening a research center in China dedicated to studying artificial intelligence (AI). AI, "in a sense, is already here.

Artificial intelligence presents an existential threat to humanity. As with other existential threats like global warming and weapons of mass destruction, we need a treaty to manage its risks—and soon.

The advent of the AI age will bring unprecedented opportunities and challenges. The world’s two most powerful countries, also the world’s two biggest players in AI, need to come together to manage this new technology.