Nations must double down on AI R&D ? or risk falling behind

Countries that develop sufficiently advanced AI tools will gain access to a new category of tools to use for the benefit of their citizens and the disadvantage of their rivals.Take it from Vladimir Putin, who said in 2017 that whichever country becomes a leader in artificial intelligence “will become ruler of the world.” China, Russia, Israel, and the United States generally set the tone for AI research today. AI isn’t necessarily providing transformative value to everyday people just yet, but its value to business and governments is already well-established.Here’s why developed nations should be doubling down on AI research and development.We already have artificially intelligent “listening” systems today that monitor a country’s network for signs of external cyber attack. The right flex of AI superiority will be enough to make world superpowers flinch.But until a breakthrough development in AI cements one nation or another as the leader, countries will compete by spending money. Until a public breakthrough establishes one country or another as leading the pack in AI development, competitors will brag about the size of their budgets.NASA designs and builds technology for space exploration, yes, but it had to solve lots of other problems on the way to a functional spaceship.