United States, China and Europe: three models of thinking about artificial intelligence

United States, China and Europe. Ramón López de Mántaras, Director of the CSIC Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, distinguishes
three models of development of artificial intelligence (IA): one who seeks only economic income, one who seeks control of citizens and one who has the human person at the center and who cares about ethics and privacy. We review the present and the future of each.

Europe: the price of consciousness

They are accused of being ineffective, of falling asleep and of dropping the development of artificial intelligence with very strict rules. However, José Dorronsoro, professor of computer science and artificial intelligence at the Autonomous University of Madrid, is convinced that the critics are unfair. "Our regulators are the most enlightened and Europe can play an important role in setting standards that will help the sector to progress in a sustainable manner and in response to the interests of humanity."

Dorronsoro points out that interesting precedents have already been established in areas such as privacy,
with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), or the protection of the environment, with the establishment of pollution standards that will later become the aspiration of many other countries. "In the field of artificial intelligence, it will be very difficult to regulate globally because economic interests are at stake, but Europe can pave the way and lay the foundation that will then be demanded by the world. citizens of the world, "he said.

In the same spirit and at the request of the European Union itself, a committee of experts published last April the guidelines for the development of artificial intelligence, based on three pillars: legal, ethical and technical. In total, the document includes seven requirements that include ensuring that systems are at the service of the human being, are safe and transparent, protect privacy and avoid discrimination. In short, it is the necessary framework to differentiate itself from the models championed by China and the United States.

Consultants such as McKinsey have however warned that the traditional gap that separates the EU from its two main competitors in the internet economy is widening with the development of artificial intelligence. "Only two of the 30 largest digital companies, 25% of artificial intelligence startups and 10% of digital unicorns are European," they said. And they add that "if Europe were developing IA proportionally to its digital weight in the world, it could add 2.7 billion euros to its wealth in 2030". A figure that could reach $ 3,600 billion if it came back to the United States, whose population is smaller.

For the European Commission, however, "it is not so much about winning or losing a career in AI, but of finding a way to exploit the opportunities that it offers in a business." perspective that puts the interests of the human being, ethics, security, and our values ​​first. "According to the Commission's report, the strong European regulatory framework and cultural diversity are values ​​that can make a difference in the development of a new era that, for the moment, is very opaque.

In addition, the EU research structure, which establishes a good balance between companies and research centers, shows that the private and public sectors are proportionally represented. "We must seize the opportunities offered by Amnesty International, but not in a non-critical way," said the Commission.

Artificial Intelligence in the United States: Benefit Rules

Some experts say that the artificial intelligence systems that govern Facebook are the best reflection of the development model that the United States represents for this sector: they are opaque, they develop without great ethical considerations to serve only commercial interests and no one is punished beyond. a reprimand without consequences for their harmful effects on society. "Unfortunately, it is the system that prevails today, as the United States is still leading the development of artificial intelligence," says Ramón López de Mántaras, director of the company. CSIC Artificial Intelligence Research Institute.

Washington delegates to businesses. Economic incomes attract the best scientists in the industry and provide a great boost for businesses. This is something that is reflected well in the makeup of the artificial intelligence industry. While the United States brings together the largest number of companies and research institutes with 28% of the total – ahead of 25% of the EU and 23% of China – the balance is very biased in favor of the business sector: 41% of The artificial intelligence companies in the world are American, but only 13% of research centers wave stars and stripes.

This is the exact opposite of what is happening in China, which accounts for 42% of the sector's R & D institutions, but only 7% of its industrial players (data from the Commission's Artificial Intelligence report, European Perspective). European). ). The exception is the development of military technology. In June 2018, the Pentagon created the Joint Center for Artificial Intelligence which, according to the New York Times, will have a budget of $ 1.7 billion for the next five years.

However, the Ministry of Defense is also relying on large companies to design future weapons that will ensure the victory of the war online that everyone fears. According to Data Center Dynamics, Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos, was ready to work for the US military "although it may not be popular," and Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, s & # 39, is defended against the complaints of his employees that "the Army has access to the best technology we believe in."

There is a lot of money at stake, but US Air Force Lieutenant General VeraLinn Jamieson said last year that it was little compared to the budget allocated by the China and acknowledged that the US military feared losing power. digital war "While Russia – the country receiving the most attention – is showing interest in conducting ambitious AI experiments, China already has the means to achieve it," said M Jamieson. "Data is a weapon and we have to start treating it as such."

China and artificial intelligence: the dragon seeks control

The development of artificial intelligence in China is a matter of state. Beijing has included the sector in its ambitious Made in China 2025 plan, with which it wants to match its economic and technological power, and has already surpbaded the United States in ranking the countries with the most resources in artificial intelligence.

"China has launched a coordinated strategy for artificial intelligence that includes government policies, industrial applications and research, and aims to make the country a world leader in 2030," says the European Commission in a sectoral report. who devotes a chapter The entire Asian giant. "This is an ambitious but achievable goal – in fact, the deployment of AI systems into processes that have a direct impact on the daily activities of the population, such as authentication systems, medical diagnosis, health insurance premiums. insurance, transport, trade, has already started, or security, "he adds.

Although the European Commission stresses that China is developing AI because "it can not rely solely on the increase of capital and manpower to achieve the desired economic growth", the greatest interest of the country is in the field of security: security systems. Artificial intelligence has become the ideal tool to control the population and attack activism. China uses facial, image, text and audio recognition systems to know where they are, what they see, what they read and what their citizens say. And experts like Raj Reddy, Turing Prize 1994, have already warned that this new technology could confer a power never before seen to authoritarian regimes.

Ramón López de Mántaras, director of the Institute for Research in Artificial Intelligence of the CSIC, can no longer agree. "The technology that could be used to amplify the critical voices that denounce abuses is used in China for repression, I'm pretty pessimistic about this issue, and I just hope I can not sell and export that model. – what has already begun to be done – And I also hope that citizens of countries like Spain will oppose the hypothetical implementation of this type of control system, "he said.

Brian Subirana, director of the MIT Auto-ID Lab, also worries about China's technological leap. "It is already the country with the largest number of patents, and it also buys a lot of technology abroad, including R & D labs, with a very powerful commitment and an abysmal power. have artificial intelligence to help them create the new technology, so it's over, and there's not enough thinking about it, you have to sit at the table and talk about it, "said Subirana. "Two special things happen in China: its size is gigantic and everything moves at an unusual speed," added José Dorronsoro, professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid.

The research is conducted by public agencies and centers serving the interests of the government. Despite everything, Dorronsoro hesitates to believe "that a superintelligence of Darth Vader will emerge in China".