China, France, the U.K. and the European Union all have articulated AI strategies
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the future. It will be essential in advancements toward autonomous driving, the way we use wireless devices, digital transformation of key industries like manufacturing, and many other use cases. Given the primacy of AI, it’s also seen as a major future determinant of economic success.
To that point governments around the world, in collaboration with private companies and academia, are developing strategies meant to ensure these nations safeguard existing industries while staking claim on emerging business opportunities that can benefit from AI.
In China, for instance, the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last year announced a three-year plan to jump start AI advancements backed with public funds. The goal is to create a domestic AI industry worth $150 billion and, by 2030, to be a global leader in the development of intelligent technology. Government documents specific call out connected cars, service robots, drones, diagnostic assistance for health care applications, “video image identification systems,” voice assistants, translation tools, smart sensors and neural network chips.
Last month the French and United Kingdom governments signed a five-year agreement to collaborate around AI. DATAIA in France and the Alan Turing Institute in the U.K. will join their research programs around shared interests, and promote wider collaboration between the French and UK digital sectors. Notably, the two institutions will collaborate on research into issues like fairness and transparency in the design and implementation of algorithms in the application of AI-related mechanisms. They will also share expertise, host joint workshops, and negotiate on funding calls.
The same isn’t the case in the U.S. While there is lots of innovation coming out of tech hubs like Silicon Valley, government attention appears more focused on reviving a dying coal industry, casting doubt on the implications of climate change and waging trade wars with long time allies. That’s not to say the Trump administration isn’t cognizant of the role of technology, but the focus has been on how tech touches national security. Trump stepped in to block Broadcom’s hostile takeover of Qualcomm, for example, and lawmakers have forced a major restructure at network infrastructure provider ZTE so the firm can continue operating the U.S. But we’re lacking in AI strategy.
Inte’ls Naveen Rao, vice president and general manager of the Artificial Intelligence Products Group, said as much in a recent blog post. “Industry and academia have been actively pursuing this future for quite some time, and early solutions are already having an impact,” he wrote. “Government entities have been slower to engage but are now crafting strategies to advance AI and solve some of their biggest challenges. China, India, the United Kingdom, France and the European Union have already come out with formal plans for AI, and this is good. We need more countries to develop AI strategies – especially the U.S.”
Rao recommend a public-private partnership that “would apply regulation sparingly while simultaneously fostering innovation and a thriving ecosystem. It’s the kind of arrangement the U.S. is known for, and a key reason that most of the great achievements of the technology industry grew out of U.S.-based companies.”
As it relates to AI, Rao suggests a three-pronged strategy focused on revamping the education system to reflect how AI will impact future skill sets; sensible data regulations and improved sharing of data sets; and public funding for research and development activities.
Rao wrote that artificial intelligence “is bigger than any one company, industry or country can address on its own. It will take the whole of our technology ecosystem and the world’s governments to realize the full promise of AI.”
