Must read book Artificial Intelligence: AI Superpowers by Kai-Fu Lee

For me, reading sits somewhere between a personal hobby and a professional occupation. As I work in tech, it helps to have a natural passion for it as well. Books on innovation, R&D and emerging technologies are a natural choice. But one technology has caught my attention more than others – Artificial Intelligence (AI). Of the many books out there on this topic, a few have stuck out in terms of honing down critical perspectives that must be taken into consideration by both AI’s enablers and adopters. In my opinion, AI Superpowers by Kai-Fu Lee is a must read for anyone who fits into these two categories.

As a Taiwanese native, American-educated business leader, computer scientist, and former president of Google China, Kai-Fu Lee (@kaifulee) provides a unique perspective on the technology race being led by the two ‘AI Superpowers’ – China and the US. Lee’s thesis revolves around the rapid development in China’s technology sector, which has now coalesced in an unexpected AI duopoly between the two opposing states. To predict the winner, Lee looks at each country’s unique and traditional cultural inclinations, as well as the delicate balance in global economic opportunity and political pressure, all of which impact each country’s respective tech sector.

Lee also provides a deep dive into the historical issues that will impact societies across the world equally once AI becomes more advanced. For example, he describes how knowledge workers will face a greater threat of unemployment, much like the struggle faced by physical laborers during the industrial revolution. Here, Lee provides actionable insights into what we should be doing today to help cope with the upcoming AI revolution, such as the government policies that will be needed to deal with the unprecedented inequality between the AI "haves" and "have-nots", as well as the (international) regulations that will need to be implemented to protect the rights of workers.

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For businesses, finding the right use cases for AI will not only be critical to meeting ever increasing demands for faster, smarter, and more efficient solutions, but to their ability to prepare for the technology-defined world of tomorrow.

AI Superpowers reinforces the idea that the biggest factor driving innovation in AI is the explosion in stakeholders involved in its development. There are now few industries for whom AI does not have some form of application, which has led to a proliferation of channels through which individual AI development projects are supported and financed. In other words, an organisation not currently working on developing AI applications will soon find themselves behind the competition.

Lee proposes a number of potential AI-dominated futures that lie ahead. Working towards the right one will require those involved in AI projects to have the right insight, the right tools and the right ideology – that is, a human-centric approach. Only then can we make sure AI is of benefit to humanity, rather than the other way around.