AI Superpowers Book Summary, by Kai-Fu Lee

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1-Page Summary of AI Superpowers

Overview

With the introduction of driverless cars and drones that fight fires, artificial intelligence is going to be used in more ways than ever before. The US and China both have large groups of people working on AI technology, so it makes sense that they’re leading the way when it comes to using this technology.

China is so determined to become the world superpower in AI that they’re doing whatever it takes to pave the way for a booming AI industry. This includes heavily subsidizing rent for start-ups, providing one-stop shops with easy access to resources and launching competitions at schools for children of executives.

Is it possible for China to beat Silicon Valley? Author Kai-Fu Lee has spent years in both places and believes that China will become the dominant economic power.

There are four main points in this passage. First, the Chinese version of Groupon was a huge success. Second, WeChat is one of the world’s biggest apps and it has changed how people communicate with each other. Third, an author had cancer and he realized that we need to rethink our relationship with AI (artificial intelligence). Lastly, there will be more investment opportunities for China companies because Western countries don’t understand them well enough yet.

Big Idea #1: Thanks to a breakthrough in deep learning, we’re on the verge of an AI economy.

Artificial intelligence has been around for a long time. People have always wondered about the effects of AI on our future and how it will change society. In fact, kids these days are asking the same questions as CEOs. They wonder if we’ll have AI teachers in schools and what jobs people will do in the future. This is because deep learning is now being used by businesses thanks to a breakthrough that happened decades ago when researchers tried to create computers that could think like humans. There were two groups working toward this goal: one group was focused on rule-based approaches while another group worked with neural networks (brain cells).

There are two approaches to machine learning: rule-based and neural networks. Rule-based AI believes that the best results come from programming machines with rules, such as “cats have triangular ears” or “dogs have four legs.” The neural network camp prefers to let the machine learn on its own through experience, much like humans do. This way, a machine can analyze a picture of a cat and respond incorrectly at first but will be able to correct itself after analyzing more data about cats in general.

When computers became more powerful and had an abundance of data to analyze, artificial neural networks were able to become much better. In the mid-2000s, Geoffrey Hinton made a breakthrough with his new model that essentially multiplied AI processing power by adding layers to the “neurons.” This was called deep learning. His new algorithm blew away competitors at visual recognition in 2012.

AI was able to solve problems and recognize patterns. It could even drive a car. This technology was applied to many things, including finance, driving cars, and recognizing images and sounds. The economy was expected to grow because of this new technology called deep learning.

Big Idea #2: Over the past few years, China has gone from copycat to top contender.

In 2016, artificial intelligence had a Sputnik moment in China. This happened when the artificial intelligence program AlphaGo beat the champion Go player Lee Sedol in three games of chess-like strategy. Many people watched this game and were upset by his defeat, but they became inspired to harness AI technology for their advantage.

AI Superpowers Book Summary, by Kai-Fu Lee