James Manyika

The DeepMind Institute seeks to provide a forum for Google, DeepMind, and outside researchers to tackle the biggest questions around artificial general intelligence's impacts on society, according to an announcement shared with Axios. The institute—led by Shane Legg as Managing Editor alongside Google SVP James Manyika and DeepMind Chair Demis Hassabis—aims to make complex academic research accessible to the public and highlight the diversity of perspectives.

This report examines the inflows and outflows of goods, services, finance, and people, as well as the data and communication flows that underlie them all, for 195 countries around the world.

Our research finds that such flows matter for global GDP growth. Today, we estimate, they add between $250 billion and $450 billion to it every year, or 15 to 25 percent of the total. In addition, we find that countries with a larger number of connections in the global network of flows increase their GDP growth by up to 40 percent more than less connected countries do.

The penalty for being left behind is rising. MGI’s new Connectedness Index ranks 131 countries on total flows of goods, services, finance, people, and data and communication, adjusting for country size. The index shows that developed economies remain more connected than emerging ones: Germany tops the list, followed by Hong Kong and the United States. Emerging economies are less connected to global flows, but some are climbing up the ranks rapidly: Morocco and Mauritius gained 26 places and 28 places, respectively, between 1995 and 2012 -- the largest increases in our index. Saudi Arabia rose 19 places, reflecting the rising value of oil exports and the recycling of oil wealth into global financial markets. India gained 16 places in this period, thanks to growth in services flows, and Brazil jumped 15 on the strength of expanding services and financial flows.