* By Fabio Rua
I have just put reticence in the book "Artificial Intelligence: how robots are changing the world, the way we love, relate, work and live". Its author, Kai-fu Lee (Chinese), is considered one of the main global technology leaders, having developed a career in companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Google, in the latter as president of the China unit.
From everything I read and learned, what made me think the most was the description of how the race for supremacy in AI is changing the balance of power and global geopolitics. And there are now three platoons of countries in it: The first, I will call latecomers strategists, those who think that artificial intelligence is important and needs to be studied - but they do not go much beyond that. The second, from the pragmatic intermediaries, who already realized that they are falling behind and decided to accelerate. And the last, from supersonic leaders, who are light years away from others and have in AI one of the main pillars of their long-term growth and development strategies. The book, by the way, is very good, and I recommend reading it.
I think it is no surprise to anyone that the front battalion has only two countries: the United States and China.
For those who follow this issue, the consensus is that the necessary preparation to achieve an AI-driven economy basically requires four elements: voracious entrepreneurs, an army of AI engineers and scientists, abundant venture capital and data , lots of data.
But what few experts recognize is that without a good dose of (1) public governance and (2) government incentives, this race would have to be canceled due to the lack of parameters and preparation of the athletes, who would not have the breath to cross the finish line. .
In the first point, it must be recognized that many countries are advancing in the debates and in the construction of principles, good practices and regulations for the use of artificial intelligence - including Brazil. Here, we are concluding the process of preparing our national AI strategy and, even in the first half of 2020, we must accelerate the dialogue around some type of legislation for the use of this technology.
But in the second, there is no denying it: the United States and China, with China still ahead of them once again, are absolute record holders. With direct involvement from the highest levels of government, these countries have left and continue to lead through floods of funding, real support for startups, research, the development of incubators, laboratories, training centers, partnerships with universities, the private sector and , not least, acquiring technology through contracts that range from AI to the digital and intelligent transformation of the public sector, to facial recognition projects, autonomous vehicles, drones and robots.
In Brazil, even as representatives of the strategist latecomers - sad, but true -, we are fully capable of advancing to the next platoon. And governments, at all levels, play a key role. It will be important to take advantage of the year of municipal elections, the ongoing legislative debate and the fact that the federal executive has been making important efforts - and victories - in the digitalization of public services, to insert artificial intelligence as one of the main enablers of our development of long term.
Do you remember the reticence I mentioned in the first paragraph? May they, and not an end, serve as an inspiration for the government and the private sector to continue to work together and continuously, structuring actions that prioritize artificial intelligence as a vital element for building an economy that enables growth and prosperity.
* Fabio Rua is a director and member of the Board of Directors of ABES (Brazilian Association of Software Companies)
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