Applications of Artificial Intelligence

How five nations lead the way in robotics, machine learning, development of the cloud, and the pursuit of singularity.

— The Industries of the Future by Alec Ross

The Industries of the Future by Alec Ross explains the lexicon origin of robots. In 1920, a writer named Karel Capek in the Czech Republic created the play Rossum’s Universal Robots. Capek’s R.U.R is dystopian, expressed in pastels of dreary mechanical grey and overcast doom. Western culture has been weary of our own creations since Prometheus gave fire to humans, causing Zeus to sentence Prometheus to infinite torture. Icarus’ ambitions were disapproved when his wings melted upon flying too high. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley sees a grotesque fusion of flesh and metal, a monster unable to be controlled by its creator. Which begs the question. How close is civilization to the point? The singularity? According to engineers that is when a sentient form matches, and surpasses human intelligence. An example is IBM’s Watson, which indeed defeated former Jeopardy! champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter in their own game. But Watson won because of its electronic database, instead of an innate ability to think with neurons or human cognition. Ray Kurzweil says singularity will happen by 2045. The computer scientist and mathematician and science fiction author Vernor Vinge says 2023. Is it that Prometheus will free himself, and give us a second gift?

The Japanese live the longest, with life expectancy of 80 years and 87 years for men and women, respectively, growing up to 84 years and 91 years in the next four decades. By 2025, Japan will increase its elderly population by 7 million citizens. It is virtually unfathomable that a quarter of a nation is over the age of 65. By 2050, almost 40 percent of Japanese will be over that age. There is a supreme deficit of children and young adults, lopsided by an aging group that cannot work/must be taken care of. The United States mitigates the loss of its workforce due to retirement, with immigration providing (for now) new pools of labor sources. China’s urbanization policies force those in rural areas to relocate to the growing cities, funneling a manufacturing base that’s been challenged by rising labor costs. Japan allocates just 50,000 visas for those outside to come inside. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, Welfare says 4 million geriatric caretakers are needed by 2050. Home care is difficult enough, compounded by mass turnover with low wages. Japanese robots tend to resemble people for this reason alone. While the U.S. reserved automation for assembly line work, in Japan, they will see closer integration of robots moving inside the home.

— The Industries of the Future by Alec Ross

— The Industries of the Future by Alec Ross

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