Artificial Intelligence: Between Hope & Caution
January 8, 2019
In the News
The field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly developing, and new applications are still to be discovered that promise to change the way we rely on this technology.
Because France and the United States contain some of the most successful engineers, startups, and companies at the top of their fields, cross investments and collaborations boomed last year and are likely to continue this year. For instance, Google strengthened its partnership with France by expanding its Artificial Intelligence research team in Paris, and Facebook targeted Paris as a center for AI expansion, planning to double the size of its AI research unit by 2020.
But governments have growing concerns about the strategic and sensitive nature of AI-based technologies as it becomes clear that AI can apply to both commercial and military use. On both sides of the Atlantic, this awareness translates into new regulations aiming at preventing technology leaks to foreign competitors.
On November 2018, the US Department of Commerce published a proposal listing various types of AI products that could benefit from export restrictions. Since January 2019, France expended its foreign investment screening mechanism to transactions targeting French companies doing research on sensitive technologies such as AI or robotics. While governments intend to strengthen national security, IT companies fear that these proposed regulations will hurt their industry and slow the development of AI.
Because Artificial Intelligence is seen as a promising technology on both sides of the Atlantic, the French-American Foundation is hosting an event on January 9th with technologist and data scientist Dr. Colin McCormick (Young Leader class of 2012) to discuss “The Age of AI: Artificial Intelligence’s looming disruptions on politics, business, and society”.
Curbs on A.I. Exports? Silicon Valley Fears Losing Its Edge, The New York Times, January 1, 2019
Trump administration proposal could target exports of the tech behind Siri, self-driving cars and supercomputers, The Washington Post, November 19, 2018
US considers export controls on AI and other new tech, Financial Times, November 19, 2018
Artificial intelligence and bias: Four key challenges, The Brookings Institution, January 3, 2019
Bercy étend le controle des investissements etrangers, Capital, January 3, 2019
Talk Sapiens-La Tribune #1 : Faut-il avoir peur de l’intelligence artificielle ?, La Tribune, January 4, 2019