Transcript 0:00 [gentle music] The United States has long been a leader in research and development in technology. Now we need to find ways to further incentivize R&D with artificial intelligence. 0:15 In order to move forward, we need to find ways to invest more in R&D. 0:22 [upbeat music] Welcome to The Peggy Smedley Show, the podcasting voice of IoT and digital transformation, with your host, Peggy Smedley. 0:43 Hello, listeners, and welcome to today's edition of The Peggy Smedley Show. As always, I'm your host, Peggy Smedley. 0:49 We've heard from several guests this month pointing to the benefits and opportunities that exist within artificial intelligence. AI is set to change the way we work in many industries, including first responders. 1:02 Today, I'm going to share with you where we are really at with this technology, what is happening with research and development, what is happening in Washington, and how the money is being spent. 1:15 Yep, we're gonna be talking about the bucks. Who is for AI? That is, who's in for artificial intelligence? Who wants to try to save the U.S. from the dark side of AI? 1:27 But first, let's talk about who's gonna be on the show. 1:30 I'll be interviewing Bin Li, assistant professor in computer engineering at the University of Rhode Island, and then I'm gonna wrap up the show with Michael Badnarik, American software engineer and political figure. 1:43 You're gonna like this one. He ran for the presidency, and he's got a lot to talk about since we are headed for an election. So let's get started. 1:52 We know tech companies like Google are spending more than five hundred million per year on AI. We see OpenAI research raises a billion dollars. Yep. Yeah, one billion, right? We also know the U.S. 2:07 government has plans for one billion in new funding for AI and quantum computing, so we're seeing a lot of money, right? This is the money we're talking about. 2:16 This is good news because throughout the twentieth century, we have seen the federal government play a big role in driving innovation. 2:24 It has been a crucial component in the development of the GPS and the internet, so global positioning system. A few reports dig into AI research and development. 2:35 It kind of needs have been happening, and we've seen that, and these have been created by Bipartisan Policy Center in consultation with Reps. 2:46 Will Hurd, a representative from Texas, and Robin Kelly, a Democrat from Illinois. And in these reports, we've seen that the U.S. 2:55 government remains one of the largest funders of basic research in the U.S., in case you didn't know that. A number of U.S. government supercomputers are built for AI applications. 3:07 In one example, the Department of Energy's Center for Accelerated Application Readiness, it has opened up applications to the public for research projects. 3:19 Now, I wrote about this back in twenty thirteen, but I will say it here again, the government's project open data is a step in making data usable by all. 3:31 And I love that because open data can ignite innovation and be a valuable resource to kind of galvanize entrepreneurs and others to think beyond traditional boundaries. 3:43 Now, we see one of these recent government papers call for six key principles, so let me share the recommendations with you because I think this is really important when we kind of look at these. 3:54 So number one, this is where they are suggesting overall federal AI research and development spending needs to increase significantly. Perhaps that's obvious, but I agree. All right? 4:06 Let's put the money there, and let's get more of it out there. Number two, the country needs to expand and diversify its computing capacity. 4:14 Now, it's no wonder a world with seven billion people and more than a hundred billion connected objects is truly necessitating a rapid paradigm shift for new diversified computing. Oh, wow, there's a no-brainer. 4:27 I'm gonna say no-brainer several times today, so get ready for it. So okay, I get it. Number three, so the federal government plans to play a key role incentivizing private sector R&D. Okay, we get it. 4:40 We can all agree that innovation in AI computing and digital transformation are spurring more growth and more advances for the data to expand into the cloud everywhere. 4:51 So from lessons learned, as I see it, no one should ever be held hostage by their infrastructure, and I think we can all agree that this also means that having the necessity and to eliminate redundancy to ensure constant uptime, right? 5:08 So I think that's important. So we get it. Okay, that's good. Number four, there needs to be international cooperation to advance research and development. 5:19 Well, we've got to work with our partners, but they don't need to steal our stuff. I, you know, I was gonna swear, but I'll be nice right now. Okay. 5:26 'Cause we all know what's going on in the world, TikTok, and we're all worried about what the Chinese want to do with it, but we know everybody's spying on everybody. 5:35 But how about if we just cooperate and quit spying on everyone? What the heck? We also know the federal government, number five, would benefit from opening up avenues for private talent. 5:45 Hey, let's get our younger people smarter with all this stuff. We can never stress enough the importance of the future of work and encouraging tech giants to continue to invest in inspiring our future generations. 5:57 Wow, what a concept, right? We need to really get smart people to solve really big challenges. Now, that's how I see the future of work and so should every tech company who works on this as well. 6:09 Well, I'm being kind of difficult today, but, I mean, some of this is just really... I mean, I, I don't know why it takes so many people, you know, billions of dollars to figure this stuff out. 6:18 And finally, number six, the report suggests AI standards and measurements are essential to foster AI technologies that are safe, secure, reliable, and aligned with U.S. norms and values. 6:30 Well, as I see it, that's just a no-brainer as well. And basically, we need to make sure the bad guys keep away and that we put out stuff that is secure. Well-Look, we see the hackers all the time finding ways to get in. 6:45 Well, why don't we put the money into things that are not flawed? Okay, there's the idea there, right? I know we can't do it. I know everybody says we have to start with something that was flawed to begin with. 6:55 Well, why don't we start with an infrastructure that's not flawed? Okay. There's nothing in this report that any enterprise shouldn't be considering anymore, okay? 7:03 So no company is immune to any challenges, pandemic or bad guys, or just plain simple innovation. You know, we get it. With that being said, I think every company needs to be constantly looking to the future. 7:17 We need to be thinking about future generations. I'm gonna say this for the rest of my life. We certainly have a lot of work ahead of us. The big takeaway here is this. 7:26 I want to make sure you hear this and don't miss this part. The United States has long been a leader in research and development in technology. 7:35 Now we need to find ways to further incentivize R&D with artificial intelligence. In order to move forward, we need to find ways to invest more in R&D. Yes, we need to do that. 7:49 We need to promote collaboration among businesses, university, and government. We need to also work together globally. I know we, we need to understand this. 8:01 And looking at the U.S., one billion dollars is planned for creating AI and quantum research institutes, Luck Research says, i- is a great point. I mean, I, I mean, they, they say that. It's a great point. I get it. 8:16 But given the critical importance of these technologies, why not invest more? I mean, we're investing in a lot of other stupid stuff. It's a great question that we need to answer. 8:28 We need to be prepared for what the future might hold. We've seen what a pandemic can do, but we need to be able to invest in better things. The opportunities are too great as the worker of the future emerges. 8:40 We need to help them, and we need to think about what they can do as they innovate. We know the worker of the future will come in contact with automation on a regular basis. 8:51 Let's look at manufacturing, transportation, and storage, and wholesale, and retail. We know what's happening as we advance. 8:59 We know the World Economic Forum estimates that by twenty thirty-five, there is between a thirty-five percent and a fifty percent chance if you work in one of those industries, you will come in contact with automation on the job. 9:13 The McKinsey Global Institute echoes that sentiment, looking broader at all industries. 9:19 In fact, it says we will see thirty to forty percent of jobs that will have repetitive tasks will come in contact with some form of automation. 9:29 And we're going to come in contact with this on our jobs over and over and over again. So here's the bottom line. The skills that will be in demand in the future will continuously change. 9:43 Closing the AI talent gap requires a targeted approach to training, recruiting, and retraining skilled workers. The U.S. needs to be embracing this and take a leadership role. 9:56 We need to be the leaders above all other things. Policymakers should be making this a priority, but we also need to make sure that we are proceeding in a way that is secure. 10:09 We see Representative Robin Kelly making a big push to make sure that AI is a positive tool in order to avoid the dark side of AI. This is a great thing, and I commend our government for considering that. 10:22 I commend Robin Kelly for doing that. This includes creating guidelines for national security considerations. 10:29 Representative Will Hurd and Robin Kelly, both from the Bipartisan Policy Center and Georgetown University Center for Security and Emerging Technologies, are working on just doing that, and they see it. 10:42 I like the idea that they're working together. But one of the papers it has created is Artificial Intelligence and National Security. 10:51 What, what's interesting about this paper and this report calls for securing competitive military intelligence advantages through AI applications with an emphasis on human machine teaming, trustworthiness, and ethics. 11:05 It also identifies international opportunities for collaboration, and it calls for the United States to work closely with allies and partners. Now, they're trying, but they can't do it alone. 11:17 So here's my opinion for today. I'm glad to see the federal government has identified AI as a key technology, but there is still much work to be done. 11:28 There's a huge opportunity to integrate AI into defense and intelligence, but there are many more moving parts to ensure it's done safely. We need to continue moving that needle forward on research and development. 11:43 We need to increase funding. We need to scale across relevant agencies and departments. We need to consider how our government's initiatives and objectives fit in with complex global environments. 11:57 We need to move forward together succinctly. So here's my tip for today. Check out those reports from the Bipartisan Policy Center in consultation with Representative Will Hurd and Robin Kelly. 12:11 I've only given you a highlight here and my thoughts based on what I've read and what I understand from these reports, but there's also so much detail in there about where we have been, where we are going, and what we need to do to get there. 12:28 So take a look at those reports, and then make sure you share your thoughts with me because I'm curious if you think there's more we can do. 12:36 I want this to be an open discussion because that is really the best way for us to move, again, as I said before, that needle forward. 12:44 We have a lot more work to do, but we can only do it if we do it together and we collaborate. All right. I'm out of time, but you know what I want you to do as always? I want you to tweet at me at ConnectedWMag. 12:56 Share your thoughts with me about how we can move the AI needle forward. So again, send me a tweet at ConnectedWMag. All right. That's all I have for this first segment, but stick around. 13:07 We've got more to talk about, and I want to know what your thoughts are, as always. So we're gonna take a quick break. As always, this is The Peggy Smedley Show. 13:14 But before I take that quick break, check out our website at connectedworld.com or thepeggysmedleyshow.com. As always, this is The Peggy Smedley Show, the podcasting voice of IoT and digital transformation. 13:24 And remember, with great technology comes great responsibility. Go get that quick cup of coffee. We'll be right back. [upbeat music]
