What will the development of AI mean for the balance of power in the world? A lot, according to Vladimir Putin at least. At a meeting with students recently, he stated that the country at the forefront of artificial intelligence will become the "leader of the world".
"Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia but for all humanity," the Russian president said. "It goes along with enormous possibilities, but also dangers that are difficult to predict. Those who lead in this field will also lead the world."
Frontrunners
But which country is currently leading the way? If you search the internet, you come across quite different lists. That's because each list is compiled based on different conditions. But in just about every list, at least one country keeps coming back in the top three: China. China recently openly announced its ambition to become the global leader in AI research by 2030. Analysts warn that America is in danger of falling behind, especially with the Trump administration busy cutting funding for basic science and technology research.
When it comes to the ranking lists around AI, several factors are looked at. First, it determines how many scientific articles have been written on the subject. China scores highest when it comes to the number of articles (over 37,500 in four years), but occupies a much lower place when looking at the quality of articles. In that case, Switzerland ranks No 1. Incidentally, the Netherlands occupies a good seventh place in that respect.
However, China is also well placed when it comes to 'AI power' because it has by far the most internet users in the world. AI development is largely linked to user data, so it is conceivable that China has an edge here with data from some 1 billion internet users.
Wars with drones
AI is expected to boost countries' economies in various ways. For instance, artificial intelligence has a lot of potential in heavy industry but also in the field of medical research. But what Putin may also be referring to is the contribution AI can make in the field of war. It can be used to develop cyber weapons and control autonomous tools such as drone swarms - fleets of cheap quadcopters with a shared 'brain' that can be used both for surveillance and attacks on adversaries. Putin therefore thinks future wars will be fought with drones. "When one side's drones are destroyed by another side's drones, it will have no choice but to surrender," the Associated Press quoted the Russian as saying.
Recently, Elon Musk and 116 other technology leaders sent a petition to the United Nations calling for new rules on AI weapons development. The group stated that the introduction of autonomous technology amounts to a "third revolution in warfare", following the development of gunpowder and nuclear weapons.
However, an AI arms race does not necessarily have to be a winner-takes-all scenario. Putin noted that Russia did not want one country to "monopolise" the field. He said, "If we become leaders in this field, we will share this knowledge with the whole world, in the same way we share our nuclear technologies today."
By: Kelly Bakker
Source: The Verge, Quora
