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GENEVA / WIPO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
STORY: GENEVA / WIPO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
TRT: 3:15
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 31 JANUARY 2019, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, Palais des Nations exterior
31 JANUARY 2019, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
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4. SOUNDBITE (English) Francis Gurry, Director General, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO):
“On AI, well it’s the replication of human intelligence by machines; so all the techniques that have developed or are developing to replace, or imitate human intellectual functions by machine functions.”
5. Close up, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Francis Gurry, Director General, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO):
“Is it good news or bad news? Well, I would tend to say that all technology is somewhat neutral and it depends on what you do with it. So, insofar as you may use AI science and techniques for developing autonomous weapons systems that are going to kill us all is not very good news, you know. But insofar as it’s being used to improve health indicators for diagnostics, for other purposes, it’s great news.”
7. Med shot, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Francis Gurry, Director General, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO):
“It’s a technology that’s been followed for many, many years. But there has been a quantum leap since about 2013, so we’re dealing with what is happening right now in a very fast-moving field.”
9. Med shot, journalists
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Francis Gurry, Director General, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO):
“One would expect that the strategic focus of major geopolitical players will turn to their positioning in relation to AI.”
11. Close up, TV camera monitor, press room
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Francis Gurry, Director General, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO):
“You did say that we see some of the internet giants there. Why? Because of data. You know, because of the access they have to data.”
13. Pan left, photographers, TV cameras, press room
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Francis Gurry, Director General, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO):
“Why are there internet giants in the US and China? Well, that’s obviously a complex question that requires a complex analysis. But one of the things that we might notice is that both of those countries have extremely large data ports. So, China has of course its population of 1.3 billion people, the United States has a population I think of around 380 million, or 400 million, plus the hegemony of English.”
15. Med shot, journalists
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Francis Gurry, Director General, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO):
“The cultural and linguistic diversity of Europe is not necessarily favouring the formation of major data pools, and we all know the more data, the better for machine learning for example, the results you are going to get.”
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The upsurge in patent applications on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the last five years suggests that it could soon revolutionize all areas of daily life and industries beyond the tech world, a UN report suggested on Thursday.
According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), 50 percent of all patents for AI – the replication of human intelligence by machines for use in transport, telecommunications and healthcare, for instance – have been published since 2013, more than 170,000.
This followed the boom in AI scientific publications, which began in 2001.
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry told journalists in Geneva TODAY (31 Jan) this was a striking finding, describing AI as “techniques that have developed or are developing to replace - or imitate - human intellectual functions by machine functions.”
“It’s a technology that’s been followed for many, many years,” Gurry said, noting that AI research began in the 1950s. “But there has been a quantum leap since about 2013, so we’re dealing with what is happening right now in a very fast-moving field.”
Patents for machine learning indicate that this is currently the most widespread AI technique, with applications that include ride-sharing services to minimize detours.
The fastest-growing AI area is deep learning, however, which is used in speech recognition.
This saw a 175 percent annual increase in patent applications from 2013 to 2016, far in excess of the overall 33 per cent average in the same period.
One of the report’s other findings is the AI dominance of the United States, led by US-based tech giant IBM, with 8,290 patent applications, and (US-headquartered) Microsoft, with 5,930.
Japan’s Toshiba has the next highest patent tally (5,223), ahead of South Korea’s Samsung (5,102) and Japan’s NEC Group (4,406).
China also plays an increasingly important role in the sector, which is illustrated by the fact that Chinese organizations make up 17 of the top 20 academic players in AI patenting, as well as 10 of the top 20 in AI-related scientific publications.
In coming years, AI is set to be a major military economic and element, Gurry suggested, before highlighting the importance of proposed WIPO-led discussions between Member States on legal and ethical issues relating to intellectual property rights that have been raised by the technology.
“One would expect that the strategic focus of major geopolitical players will turn to their positioning in relation to AI,” he said.
The WIPO report showed that internet search giants have also been key to the AI revolution, with Google (US) and Baidu (China) embracing the potential of the technology early on, just as pre-eminent computer manufacturers Microsoft and Apple did before them.
“You did say that we see some of the internet giants there,” Mr Gurry said to reporters. “Why? Because of data. You know, because of the access they have to data.”
In addition to these “extremely large data ports, China has of course its population of 1.3 billion people”, the WIPO head continued, “the United States has a population I think of around 380 million, or 400 million, plus the hegemony of English”.
State support for innovation is also crucial to the continued success of the AI revolution, the WIPO report suggests.
This includes funding to promote creativity, a strong regulatory framework to protect innovation through patent registration, and incredible business ecosystems to support the companies, universities and government organizations.
The report noted the difficulty for other countries, even those with great education, to compete with the business, engineering and investing talent of the US and China adding that the biggest untapped opportunities lie outside the software industry, in industries such as agriculture, healthcare and manufacturing.
The WIPO Director General said the cultural and linguistic diversity of Europe “is not necessarily favouring the formation of major data pools. And we all know the more data, the better for machine learning for example, the results, you are going to get.”
Asked whether the world was better off because of the technology, Gurry expressed his belief that all technology “is somewhat neutral.” He added, “So, insofar as you may use AI science and techniques for developing autonomous weapons systems that are going to kill us all is not very good news, you know, but insofar as it’s being used to improve health indicators for diagnostics, for other purposes, it’s great news.”
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