Oxford dictionary defines technology as “application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes”. New technologies are what they are supposed to bring- make things more efficient, increase productivity, reduce cost and make lives better. Artificial intelligence is spoken as bringing human intelligence to robots and machines so that they can think like humans and do tasks that only humans can do today.
Comments by technology stalwarts and visionaries like Elon Musk on the threat of AI being more than what North Korea with its ICBMs appears to the US or being an” existential threat” to mankind has other big supporters who view AI with similar lenses. British physicist, Stephen Hawking warns of AI as being a threat to mankind and talks of either “the best of worst thing” for human beings. The Luddite forces have been generally trade unions so far who used to oppose technology for fear of job losses but these technology and science visionaries speaking of the dangers take us to a different plane of thinking.
Artificial intelligence, Internet of things, 5G, Nano technology, Industry 4.0 are buzzwords that are increasingly being seen in the online portals, newspapers, seminars and TV talk shows on technology. Some technology enthusiasts forward updates related to these aspects on sites like LinkedIn and WhatsApp. Are these areas going to be game changers for societies and countries in coming times? Or is it all hype created by interested parties and suppliers trying to further enhance and create the ground for more business opportunities and show that they are at the fore front of technology? Or is it both?
Are governments across the industrialized and developing world seeing potential in these areas? A sample of the advanced countries show that some of them are taking it seriously.
The US has come up with two presidential committee reports in 2016 on the impact of Artificial Intelligence. The US government views AI as essential to maintain its leadership position. The studies recommend the US to continue research on AI, maintain focus and develop the technology while taking cognizance of changes that would come in the policy, regulatory and legal areas. The need to study the fallout on society and employment due to the impact of automation also needs attention. The European Union has a program called Horizon 2.0 with funding for areas like cloud computing, 5G, AI and Nano technology. Interestingly, the European parliament has recently called for robots to be classified as “electronic persons”. EU has however indicated that they do not currently envisage any changes in legislation or laws to deal with AI.
The three Asian economies taking avid interest are China, Japan and South Korea. China for instance has made innovation, AI and related areas as part of their 5-year plans and has set the vision of becoming a global innovation Centre of AI by 2030. China has identified AI as being crucial to its development and wellbeing and has set specific targets to be achieved. Japan is talking of “Society 5.0” in formulating its science and technology plans for the country. The government has setup an advisory board to study the impact and measures to be undertaken to foster the development of AI and recommend changes to be made on ethical, legal, education and the social sectors. Meanwhile, the South Korea government too is giving focus on ICBM (IOT, Cloud Computing, Big data analysis and mobile communication) for the country to maintain its economic and social wellbeing.
What about the developing countries? India has set up taken up specific programs and schemes like Digital India, Skill up India, Smart Cities and Make in India to take India ahead on the journey of progress. However, the government has so far not set up any inter-ministerial study to prepare the technological changes and leverage the potential benefits or study the impact on employment, education and society at large. Other developing countries are on similar lines. Many talk of the importance of IT and increase of broadband and internet to the masses. This is no doubt required and in a future of information and knowledge based societies, the emerging areas need to be studied not only in the universities and engineering institutes but also in the policy and regulatory forums. With increasing automation and AI, there is apprehension that low skilled jobs will be severely impacted. Rising unemployment will lead to social unrest and impact the economy of a country. This will be true for other developing countries too. It is time that countries plan their long-term strategies on handling high technology and their fallouts. If areas like AI, IOT, Nano technology and broadband are going to impact society then we cannot afford to be late.
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