The UAE appointed a minister for AI. Saudia Arabia announced plans to build a smart city 33x the size of New York City, and granted “citizenship” to a robot.
These are just some of the emerging tech news that crossed my screen within the last few hours. And it’s a tiny chunk. Meanwhile a couple weeks ago or so, a group of benevolent technologists gathered in Norway, in the set of Ex Machina to discuss futures of AI.
In my work and research, AI and robotics have shot up to the top right alongside (all of a sudden seemingly much more tame-seeming) IoT.
This tracks completely with an impression I’ve had for the last couple of months: It seems we’re at some kind of inflection point. Out of the many parts of the puzzle called “emerging tech meets society”, the various bits and pieces have started linking up for real, and a clearer shape is emerging.
We know (most of) the major actors: The large tech companies (GAFAM & co) and their positions; which governments embrace—or shy away from—various technologies, approaches, and players; even civil society has been re-arranging itself.
We see old alliance break apart, and new ones emerging. It’s still very, very fluid. But the opening moves are now behind us, and the game is afoot.
The next few years will be interesting, that much is certain. Let’s get them right. There’s lots to be done.
