People who enjoy a lot of respect — like Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk — warn of a coming artificial intelligence apocalypse. Others say the conversation has become alarmist — either that general AI is unlikely, or that even if it arrives, it will be here to help, not harm us.

Those are good debating points. But whatever the case, shouldn't we start preparing for any eventuality, especially since some researchers appear to be rushing far ahead of our think-tankers and policymakers? So what should we know now? We asked four varied experts for their thoughts. Here are their answers:

• Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway: Teach kids how to use AI as a positive tool
• Andrew Moore, computer scientist, Carnegie Mellon University: The U.S. needs more AI researchers
• Azeem Azhar, entrepreneur, Exponential View: China will win the AI race
• Ian Bremmer, political scientist, Eurasia Group: The U.S. will win the AI race, but at a cost