INTELLIGENT MACHINES CREATE THE NEW HEGEMONY

China and America reap the AI dividend

Dateline: 3 December 2030
In the last 15 years, we have witnessed the stunning rise of an exponential technology - machine learning and artificial intelligence. Like Moore's Law on steroids, smart machines and computer systems have created entirely new global industries, turbo-boosted productivity, and destroyed old, industrial age business sectors.
The Economist, now a purely digital research and analysis house, estimates the 'new value' created by this phenomenon at over US$ 19 trillion globally. But a full 70% of this windfall has landed on the United States and China, who have dominated the tech scene, almost to the exclusion of other nations.
Despite the fact that the 'nation state' is an almost anachronistic concept in the 2030s, both China and the USA have stubbornly clung to their historically strong ideology of building their own economic empires first, and dispensing largesse to the rest of the world later. It's in their nature.
Other developing nations have sought to innovate and grow on the coat tails of these two giants, and some have succeeded; but many are dependent on the markets and investments they provide, and are forced further down the value chain, almost like vassal states.
Industrial powers like Germany and France have used regional integration to hang onto some semblance of importance in this new world order, but factory work, such as it is, has drifted to India - the world's sweatshop, with the biggest pool of workers.
Like two gorillas in the same territory, China and America maintain an uneasy alliance. Each is waiting for the other's first misstep; in the meantime, the dual hegemony is benefitting both.
Published: 20 September 2018
Links to related stories
1. AI Could Devastate the Developing World - Bloomberg, 18 September 2018
2. Need to make a molecule? Ask this AI for instructions - Nature, 28 March 2018
3. MindBullet: DIGITAL CREATIONS BECOME MILLIONAIRES (Dateline 28 September 2023, Published 23 August 2018)
4. MindBullet: CHINA GOBBLES UP EUROPE (Dateline 23 April 2023, Published 7 June 2018)
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Comments

Doug Vining

Doug Vining Memory like a human for AI hegemony



A FuturesForum post (titled: "Memory like a human for AI hegemony") refers to this MindBullet. The full FuturesForum post can be read here: http://www.futureworld.org/PublicZone/FuturesForum/BlogDetails.aspx?PostID=532cf5ac-52c4-4748-ae33-72d023b35bee
Posted: 21 September 2018 at 08:56
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Doug Vining

Doug Vining AI hegemony

Earlier this year Ian Hogarth published a long essay about AI Nationalism, which examines in detail how machine learning and artificial intelligence are becoming key strategic resources for countries, especially China and America. A fascinating analysis which you can read in full here:

https://www.ianhogarth.com/blog/2018/6/13/ai-nationalism
A FuturesForum post (titled: "AI hegemony") refers to this MindBullet. The full FuturesForum post can be read here: http://www.futureworld.org/PublicZone/FuturesForum/BlogDetails.aspx?PostID=6fe1f580-5622-49d1-be4b-fc9bb28d9147
Posted: 5 October 2018 at 09:29
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