Israel is among the ten leading countries in the world in the field of research and investment in artificial intelligence, while the Arab countries are completely absent from the list.
Researcher Trung Gai - Director of the Energy and Public Services Sector at Arthur D. Little's Singapore - and researcher Abhishek Srivastava - Director of Communications and Information Technology at the same company - recently published a very important joint research entitled "The arms race Global Artificial Intelligence – How can nations avoid being left behind?”
(The global AI arms race – How nations can avoid being left behind).
During which they discussed the current global landscape of artificial intelligence, and what are the leading and backward countries in this vital field, and also presented very important insights and suggestions to world leaders and decision-makers who wish to work for the development of their countries and gain a competitive advantage in this crucial future race for artificial intelligence. and how to achieve growth and prosperity for their people by investing in it.
In an interview with Forbes magazine, the two researchers say, "The primary goal of every nation is to create a flexible economy that aims for the prosperity of the people, not just achieving economic dominance or attracting large companies to invest in state lands."
The world before artificial intelligence is not the same world after it
The researchers explained that the world before the discovery of electricity in the 19th century was no longer the same world after the discovery of electricity, as the global economy witnessed a radical and decisive transformation after that discovery that changed the face of humanity.
Electricity had a devastating effect - if it is correct to say - on the global economic production machine that prevailed before it, and it can be said that the entire previous economic cycle was blown up to be replaced by new economic production mechanisms that use completely different frameworks and tools.
The researchers add that the nations and peoples that have absorbed the new transformations after electricity, and how to deal with this new energy;
She led and dominated the world in the following decades, and everyone who mastered the engineering and economics of electricity was able to transform the course of history, and the transformation at that time was not linear or cumulative, but rather a complete change that led to comprehensive social and economic transformations, at all levels and in all sectors.
The same thing is happening now. The world before artificial intelligence is not the same as the world after it. Change affects everything around us, and it reaches all sectors to change them permanently, and it is on its way to transforming all countries and industries in a similar way.
The countries that will reap the greatest benefit from artificial intelligence are those that adopt work strategies based on a deep awareness of the upcoming changes, and establish a technical infrastructure capable of benefiting from the new revolution, taking into account the local and global environmental and economic systems available to them.
Abhishek says, "Artificial intelligence can contribute to the improvement of every product, service or infrastructure that exists in every country, and it will improve the competitiveness of these countries' products in the global market, and the use of artificial intelligence will enable to provide a better customer experience, and high-quality products at a lower price. Leading governments understand this well, and are re-establishing and restructuring their infrastructure around it."
Leading Countries Evaluation Mechanism
The researchers ranked the leading countries in the field of artificial intelligence according to 4 main factors:
How to start investing in artificial intelligence: It includes the extent of investment in startups active in the field of artificial intelligence compared to the number of members of society and the level of per capita income in each country.
AI-related jobs: the percentage of AI-related jobs in each country's economy.
The extent of adoption of research in artificial intelligence in the private sector: It includes the level of adoption of artificial intelligence, and the presence of funds allocated to research in artificial intelligence in the top 10 local companies listed in the country.
Knowledge and skills related to artificial intelligence: It includes the institutes that lead research, and includes the top 5 universities in the country and the extent of their interest in this field, as well as the number of patents related to artificial intelligence per million residents of the country.
What countries are leading the global arms race?
Depending on the previous four factors, the researchers found that China is at the forefront of global efforts in the field of research in artificial intelligence and its adoption in its local economy, followed by the United States of America in this field, but when it comes to the private sector, the researchers found that there are small countries - such as Israel and Singapore - taking the reins The initiative in this field, which includes the best scientific laboratories in the world researching artificial intelligence, and “is the melting pot of the world’s laboratories,” so to speak, as Abhishek says.
The ten leading countries that lead the rest of the world in the field of armament with artificial intelligence according to the previous four criteria combined;
They are - respectively - Singapore, Germany, America, Sweden, Estonia, Britain, Canada, Israel, China and South Korea.
No Arab country was mentioned among the leading countries, at a time when Israel ranked eighth in the world in research and investment in the field of artificial intelligence, surpassing many of the first world countries.
Israel allocates 4.95% of GDP for scientific research, while Arab countries generally put less than 1% of their national production for scientific research, with the largest Arab country - Egypt - allocating 0.71% of its GDP to scientific research, while this amount reaches The ratio is 0.82% in Saudi Arabia, which is the richest Arab country, according to World Bank statistics.
The two researchers stress that China and America are the largest players in the world in the long run in terms of the arms race in the field of artificial intelligence;
As more data is collected, it leads to better and more advanced artificial intelligence, so the size of these two countries plays a crucial role in the amount of data collected.
The United States is also leading the way in the field of algorithm design and the development of the next wave of artificial intelligence technology, and America is the most attractive country for talent and young minds researching in this field, and this will give it an advantage in the long run.
In the private sector, Germany is the country with the largest number of jobs related to artificial intelligence, especially in small and medium-sized companies operating in it.
catch up
But what can lagging countries and governments do to gain the necessary momentum in the global arms race in AI?
Trong stressed - during his answer to this question - the importance of research and development and the adoption of the necessary funds for this, noting that America, Canada and Britain had begun investing and researching in artificial intelligence about a decade ago, and are reaping the benefits of this investment now, while emerging and willing countries In catching up you will need to put in a lot of effort, and it has to focus on research and development and allocate funds for it.
Trung and Abhishek predict that although we are currently in the midst of a frantic global race for artificial intelligence;
Within the next ten years, we will witness more applications of artificial intelligence in every place and sector, and these technologies will become available to everyone, just like electricity, but countries that will move faster than others will reap very large economic benefits compared to others.