  Rapid technological advancements in AI as well as the growing deployment of
intelligent technologies in new application domains are currently driving the
competition between businesses, nations and regions. This race for
technological supremacy creates a complex ecology of choices that may lead to
negative consequences, in particular, when ethical and safety procedures are
underestimated or even ignored. As a consequence, different actors are urging
to consider both the normative and social impact of these technological
advancements. As there is no easy access to data describing this AI race,
theoretical models are necessary to understand its dynamics, allowing for the
identification of when, how and which procedures need to be put in place to
favour outcomes beneficial for all. We show that, next to the risks of setbacks
and being reprimanded for unsafe behaviour, the time-scale in which AI
supremacy can be achieved plays a crucial role. When this supremacy can be
achieved in a short term, those who completely ignore the safety precautions
are bound to win the race but at a cost to society, apparently requiring
regulatory actions. Our analysis reveals that blindly imposing regulations may
not have anticipated effect as only for specific conditions a dilemma arises
between what individually preferred and globally beneficial. Similar
observations can be made for the long-term development case. Yet different from
the short term situation, certain conditions require the promotion of
risk-taking as opposed to compliance to safety regulations in order to improve
social welfare. These results remain robust when two or several actors are
involved in the race and when collective rather than individual setbacks are
produced by risk-taking behaviour. When defining codes of conduct and
regulatory policies for AI, a clear understanding about the time-scale of the
race is required.
