US to lag behind China on AI research, analysts say

Years ago, we had only imagined it in movies, explored it in literature, and played at in video games: how artificial intelligence would soon rule over the world that humans built. The "Terminator" movie series, Isaac Asimov's "I, Robot," and even the video game "Portal" tell stories of how AI took control, favoring their cold, calculative ways over empathic human emotion.

Vladimir Putin: who controls AI, controls the world

But now there are talks of how AI could make or break history. That they would impact the world for better or worse, depending on who holds the better technology. These are talks by world leaders, the most powerful men in the world. Vladimir Putin was one of the more recent ones who chimed in, saying basically that whoever controls superior AI will rule the world.

"It comes with colossal opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to predict. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world," Putin said. He added that AI is the future not only for Russia but all of the humankind.

What does this mean for the US?

The top two countries that are considered to be on the cutting edge of AI are US and china.

An article from The Verge claims that artificial intelligence development has been a matter of concern for national security. See, China has made it their goal to be the world's leader in AI research and development, and they hope to achieve this goal by 2030. In contrasts, the US may fall behind according to analysts. This could be because of various factors, but one of the major reasons is that current US President Donald Trump cut the funding for basic scientific and technological pursuits.

Of course, the US is still researching AI technology with what resources are available, but analysts just think that the superpower will lag behind if China becomes aggressive enough with their research.

There is truth to Putin's statements. AI can be used to further detection technology, drones, and structures that will greatly aid a country's warfare capability. The Russian leader even believed that future wars would be fought with drones, saying, "When drones of another destroy one party's drones, it will have no other choice but to surrender."

Vladimir Putin pointed out that in light of such concepts, an "AI arms race" shouldn't be the only scenario the world should look out for. He stated that he would not want any one country to monopolize the technology. He said that leaders in AI should share the know-how with the rest of the world, just as how they share nuclear advancements.