Topline
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt on Sunday urged lawyers to raise money for research and development in the artificial intelligence space to prevent China from becoming the largest player in the global AI market – a development Schmidt warned passed that it would compromise national security and privacy. this could be a national emergency.
Eric Schmidt speaks at the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) … [+]
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Key facts
Speaking to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday, the 65-year-old Schmidt said the United States could lose its lead in AI “very quickly” over the next decade due to the Chinese government’s progress on the 2017 plan to global market to lead AI by 2030.
Schmidt, former CEO of Google and current chairman of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, notes that the U.S. is also lagging behind China in addition, or 3D, manufacturing and robotics, as well as facial recognition technology and supercomputers – both of which pose a threat to national security.
“The government is not ready today for this new technology,” Schmidt said Sunday, noting that the use of AI to extract and disseminate harmful information is a threat to democracy and could be eventually used as a tool of war.
To keep the U.S. competitive, Schmidt is proposing to increase the country’s budget for research and development in AI from $ 1.5 billion this year to $ 2 billion in 2022, and then double each year until it hits. $ 32 billion in 2026.
Schmidt also said that lawyers need to encourage public-private partnerships to develop AI applications across government agencies, including the Department of Energy, that can use the technology to track infrastructure, detect issues and suggest solutions – such as warning of increased energy loads ahead of adverse weather effects or protection against cyber attacks.
Rising AI costs would encourage private investments in the area and could save taxpayers money in the long run by modernizing government infrastructure, Schmidt notes, estimates. that the industry could be worth $ 50 trillion over the next 20 years.
Quote Cruise
“We believe this is a national crisis and a threat to our country if we do not get our act together on targeting AI in the federal government and international security,” Schmidt told Zakaria on Sunday. “If these technologies are built in China, for example, they are not necessarily going to follow our rules of privacy or our ethics… We must be careful to win this battle. “
What do you look
With the next round of fiscal relief making its way to President Joe Biden’s desk as early as this week, a separate recovery package is expected to plow in another $ 2 trillion to the economy this year. Although details of the plan have been scarce so far, the president has said it will modernize the country’s infrastructure with a focus on clean energy. It has also invested $ 300 billion in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, 5G and broadband.
Tangent
Other members of the NSCAI include Oracle Safra Catz CEO and new Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.
A large number
$ 19.3 billion. That’s worth Schmidt, according to Forbes.
Further reading
AI Commission: Immigrants That Matter to Tech America’s Competitiveness (Forbes)
Nonprofit Prison Communications backed by Jack Dorsey on Twitter and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt (Forbes)