Also called machine language in some contexts, artificial intelligence (or AI) is the kind of intelligence shown by machines against the natural intelligence inherent in animals and human beings. As devices are becoming more capable, sophisticated, and advanced, artificial intelligence is becoming more prominent, and the future of the world will be AI-driven.
Today, AI can outperform human beings in very complicated tasks like chess or the classic Chinese game of Go, drive cars autonomously, and even get data analytics done. Considering the vast and undeniable importance of artificial intelligence, governments worldwide are trying to lead in the AI race. But exactly how can this be achieved? Several strategies have been deployed in this regard, and let’s explore them all today.
Strategies for Getting Ahead in the AI Race
To emerge and remain the leader of the all-important AI race, nations are employing several strategies with varying results, and these are as follows:
- Incorporation in the Education Curriculum
Countries like India, China, Japan, and South Korea making significant inroads in artificial intelligence, are redesigning their entire educational curricula to incorporate all artificial intelligence topics fully.
This is not limited to the tertiary institutions like universities and polytechnics alone. Elementary and high schools are not spared from the courses and subjects pertaining to artificial intelligence. The objective is that by the time the children of today become adults, they will be very versatile and experts already when it comes to AI. This makes sense as the kids of today are going to be the leaders of tomorrow.
- Sponsoring Competitions
In a country like China, the government is not taking the AI race lightly. For this reason, they are sponsoring AI-based contests and competitions all over the country. The essence of these competitions is to test their brains’ mental limits while also harvesting the brightest minds in the AI niche. Many of the contests come with a lot of mouth-watering offers, prizes, and gifts. It is a testament that some governments are ready to go all the way in this race. India too has begun to conduct competitions across the country that invite students and professionals to display their AI innovations which could potentially help in the development of agriculture and space industry.
- Funding Research and Development
The intellectual world is driven by research and development (R&D), leading to innovation. The superpowers know this, which is why they are pumping billions of dollars into all kinds of research and development in the AI niche.
There is a frenetic pace of competition as governments are setting aside particular budgets dedicated to achieving success with innovation. This generates positive outcomes in various parts of the globe, especially natural language interpretation, content delivery networks (intelligent routing), autonomous or self-driving cars, and simulations for the armed forces. Even though not all the answers have been provided yet, nations are not giving up. As hinted in the sections above, he who dominates AI is going to control the future.
- Technology Transfer
As countries are not on the same level when it comes to technological advancement, some other governments collaborate with the more advanced nations and do deals. These are deals that have to do with technology transfer. This is good as it fosters a good relationship between countries; it also helps speed up discovering new frontiers in artificial intelligence.
- Public-Private Partnerships
Software engineering, artificial neural networks, computational intelligence, and operations research are just a few areas where AI is deeply relevant. As the government has its challenges too and cannot solve all the problems alone, it chooses to partner with the private sector, and the United States is a perfect example of this.
In the USA, the federal government is working hand in hand with leading AI entrepreneurs like Elon Musk to have America dominate the field in the nearest future.
Conclusion
It is no longer a debate that artificial intelligence is crucial to our advancement in technology and will go a long way in determining global leaders in the future. It is for this reason that several nations are in a race to become the ultimate leader. To achieve this noble goal, they have deployed several strategies, few of which have been discussed above.
