Two recent studies seem to cast their luck on world leadership in the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies; the global advantages are associated to the nations of the north while the lag is especially located in the southern countries of the planet: Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and some areas of the Asian Pacific.
The countries of the northern hemisphere of the planet occupy the first 20 places of the classification in artificial intelligence, mostly from western Europe. Meanwhile, all Latin American countries are below the world average; Mexico (32) and Uruguay (35) have the best position in the ranking; Chile (39) is followed by Brazil (40). Costa Rica qualifies in position 66.
Last May, the “Government Preparation Index in Artificial Intelligence” was published, an analysis of 194 countries prepared by the International Development Research Center (IDRC) of Canada, where Singapore ranks first, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States; Japan is tenth on the list.
In the first 20 places of the classification, the countries of the north of the planet appear, mostly from Western Europe. Meanwhile, all Latin American countries are below the world average; Mexico (32) and Uruguay (35) have the best position in the ranking; Chile (39) is followed by Brazil (40). Costa Rica qualifies in position 66, behind Kazakhstan. Somalia is the last on the index.
The IDRC study aims to be a comparative tool dissected into 11 indicators arranged in four groups, namely: governance; infrastructure and data; education and skills; government and public services.
Hannah Miller and Richard Stirling, experts from Oxford Insights, the authors of the study, visualize that in 2030 AI technologies will contribute about US$15 trillion to the world economy.
Patent registration
The IDRC document is complemented by the analysis called “Technology Trends”, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in January 2019. According to the report, some 340 thousand patents related to AI have been processed, the majority since 2013.
When the production of information on the subject is valued, WIPO identifies 1.6 million scientific documents since the emergence of the concept in the 1950s.
The patenting processes are mainly directed by the companies; on a second level are universities or government agencies.
According to WIPO, at the end of 2016, IBM (International Business Machines Corp) had the largest share of AI patent applications with 8,290 inventions, followed by the US company Microsoft Corp. with 5,930. Then there are other recognized firms with bulky records such as Toshiba of Japan (5,223), the Samsung Group of the Republic of Korea (5,102) and the NEC Group of Japan (4,406).
China is among the main patent applicants in the government institutions and universities segment.
AI techniques related to machine learning lead patent registrations, particularly those associated with neural networks that have revolutionized machine translation. A third of all inventions are of this type.
For example, applications for shared travel services went from 9,567 in 2013 to 20,195 in 2016. The use of AI in machine learning, present in voice recognition systems, totaled nearly 2,399 patent applications this last year.
Computer vision for image recognition, key in the operation of vehicles without drivers, totaled 3,738 patent applications. Robotics inventions accounted for 2,272 applications, with an estimated growth of 265% compared to 2013.
From 2013 to 2016, the number of AI patent applications related to telecommunications almost doubled, reaching 6,684. During the period, medical sciences exceeded 4,000 applications related to robotic surgery and the personalization of medicines.
As IDRC and WIPO reports indicate, the AI approach should prioritize the overall benefits, as well as the ethical, legal and regulatory limits of its applications.
The recipe of the experts seems deceptively simple: countries like those in Latin American must first formulate policies, strategies and priorities that guide the use of AI; promote local capacities and the adequacy of existing resources; promote initiatives of interaction of the public and private sectors.
Government policies are framed by taking advantage of AI in services of high social value (health and education) and making public services such as tax payments and the administration of justice efficient.
A relevant difference between the countries of the north and those of the south is that the former have arranged the resources of the academic sector with those of the public and private sectors to boost advances in AI.
As documented in an article from the report of the Scientific and Technological Registry (RCT) prepared by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICIT), in January 2017, the research associated with the development of AI in the country is insipient. At that time, 12 projects, 36 professionals, and 12 research units belonging to 6 national institutions were identified. The topics addressed were environment, agriculture, education, and the Internet.
Precisely, in October 2016, the Costa Rica Chamber of Industries led the congress “Industry 4.0: Automation, Opportunity or Threat? where a discussion agenda on the impact of AI in our environment was proposed with the presence of experts, industrialists and academics.
In the academic field, the Costa Rica Institute of Technology (TEC) has a specialization program on AI with emphasis on data management, applications in business models, and digital transformations.
On the other hand, in October 2018, the Ministry of Science and Technology and Telecommunications (Micitt) presented the “Bicentennial Digital Transformation Strategy 2018-2022”, which consists of six strategic axes: Pura Vida Digital, Intelligent CR, Business Transformation 4.0, Innovative Society, Good Governance and Connected Costa Rica.
The proposal seeks digital government actions focused on citizens, the so-called "open government" focuses on generating transparency; and through interoperability the procedures would be simpler and at a low cost.
As strategic allies, the Micitt identified several State institutions such as the Costa Rican Social Security Fund, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Education, the financial system, among others.
Finally, in April 2017, Conicit, with the support of the GIZ (German Corporation for International Cooperation), selected 5 national companies for an internship aimed at developing initiatives in industry 4.0, in the State of Bavaria, Germany.
The documents that evaluate the advances in artificial intelligence can be consulted through the following links:
WIPO's first study on “technology trends” focuses on artificial intelligence (AI).
Government Artificial Intelligence Readiness
Index 2019
Strategy of Transformación Digital [Digital Transformation] towards the Costa Rica of the Bicentennial 4.0.
Artificial Intelligence in Numbers |
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The analysis of the 4th industrial revolution, dominated by artificial intelligence technologies, discovers a scenario of leading and lagging countries. The data mark an undisguised destiny if governments do not undertake a sustained effort to boost and manage the benefits and the risks.
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Sources: WIPO & IDRC
The darkest blue countries are the most advanced in artificial intelligence and the stragglers are light blue. Latin America and the Caribbean are below average in the government preparedness index for artificial intelligence. Source: IDRC
