The answer is No . There is a huge opportunity for smaller , more agile economies in Asia — to borrow from Isaac Newton — to stand on the shoulders of the two giants to reap the benefits of AI application in their own industries .
Other Asian countries can benefit from China ’ s recent experience in AI in pursuing their own virtuous cycle of AI integration . That means cultivating an open attitude toward AI adoption and integration within the industry , emphasising technology skills development and retention , as well as being open to foreign investment and technology trade . The AI economic dividend is not a prize being fought over by two international heavyweights . It is a universal economic opportunity that all Asian countries can pursue ; one that will shape the competitive landscape across the region over the next decade .
Responding to the Fourth Industrial Revolution – World Economic Forum
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical , digital , and biological spheres .
There are three reasons why today ’ s transformations represent not merely a prolongation of the Third Industrial Revolution but rather the arrival of a Fourth and distinct one : velocity , scope and systems impact . The speed of current breakthroughs has no historical precedent . When compared with previous industrial revolutions , the Fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace . Moreover , it is disrupting almost every industry in every country . And the breadth and depth of these changes herald the transformation of entire systems of production , management , and governance .
The possibilities arising from billions of people connected by mobile devices , with unprecedented processing power , storage capacity and access to knowledge , are unlimited . And these possibilities will be multiplied by emerging technology breakthroughs in fields such as artificial intelligence , robotics , the Internet of Things , autonomous vehicles , 3-D printing , nanotechnology , biotechnology , materials science , energy storage , and quantum computing .
Engineers , designers , and architects are combining computational design , additive manufacturing , materials engineering , and synthetic biology to pioneer a symbiosis between micro-organisms , our bodies , the products we consume , and even the buildings we inhabit .
The largest beneficiaries of innovation tend to be the providers of intellectual and physical capital — the innovators , shareholders , and investors — which explains the rising gap in wealth between those dependent on capital versus labour . Technology is therefore one of the main reasons why incomes have stagnated , or even decreased , for the majority of the population in high-income countries ; the demand for highly skilled workers has increased while the demand for workers with less education and lower skills has decreased . The result is a job market with a strong demand at the high and low ends , but a hollowing out of the middle .
On the supply side , many industries are seeing the introduction of new technologies that create entirely new ways of serving existing needs and significantly disrupt existing industry value chains . Disruption is also flowing from agile , innovative competitors who , thanks to access to global digital platforms for research , development , marketing , sales , and distribution , can oust well-established incumbents faster than ever by improving the quality , speed , or price at which value is delivered .
Major shifts on the demand side are also occurring , as growing transparency , consumer engagement , and new patterns of consumer behaviour ( increasingly built upon access to mobile networks and data ) force companies to adapt the way they design , market , and deliver products and services .
A key trend is the development of technologyenabled platforms that combine both demand and supply to disrupt existing industry structures , such as those we see within the “ sharing ” or “ ondemand ” economy . These technology platforms , rendered easy to use by the smartphone , convene people , assets , and data — thus creating entirely new ways of consuming goods and services in the process . In addition , they lower the barriers for businesses and individuals to create wealth , altering the personal and professional environments of workers . These new platform
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