There are two types of AI threats. The first is fun to think about: In this threat, a super-potent digital intelligence escapes the intended bounds of its mandate and then wipes out humanity in a robot-overlord, glowing-red-eyed-Arnold-Schwarzenegger doomsday scenario. On second thought, it is not fun to think about per se, but it’s at least a more interesting thought exercise than the second threat.

The second threat is an AI that goes right up to the edge of Skynet, but falls short of being an artificial general intelligence. Instead, AI becomes a new type of ultra-powerful software that has the potential to upend existing market dynamics. Said simply, the second threat is one where an ultra-small set of people make lots of money. The interesting thing about this scenario is contemplating who wins and who loses. Will today’s tech goliaths be able to leverage their gigantic balance sheets to extend their reign? Or will the future be seized by a new generation of little guys with hyper-intelligent slingshots? The question of which companies win the AI battle is one that needs answering.