We can thrive in the age of AI

The key to New Zealand succeeding with artificial intelligence is attracting top talent to our country, writes

at Google DeepMind, putting him right at the forefront of AI research. While he gives very few interviews, he’s on record as saying that societies must adapt to AI. ‘‘I think the biggest issue isn’t really financial, but cultural,’’ he told the community blog Less Wrong back in 2011.

It would be sensible for the New Zealand government to tap Legg’s expertise, as our country prepares for an AI future.

What else can we do as a nation? Attract more talent, says Tom White. He noted that Canada is doing this aggressively, especially since the current US administration has ‘‘embarked on a number of policies that are alienating academics’’.

He also pointed out that DeepMind has opened a research office in Edmonton. Perhaps we can convince Shane Legg’s company to do the same here.

But even if we’re able to attract emerging talent, White says we shouldn’t just blindly copy Silicon Valley in using it.

He suggests that Germany is a better example for our country, because its value system is not centred on individual wealth, recognition, or careers. This makes it ‘‘much more conducive to adapting to the near future of living among machines, that are in many ways smarter and more capable than we can currently imagine’’.

Coping with automation – and AI in general – will be one of the biggest challenges of the coming decades. But like Tom White, I’m confident that New Zealand is better suited to adapt than many other countries. And if we can attract AI talent to our shores, we’ll do more than just adapt. We’ll thrive in the AI era.

Richard MacManus (@ricmac) founded tech blog ReadWriteWeb in 2003 and has since become an internationally recognised commentator on what’s next in technology and what it means for society.