(GOOGL), (NVDA), (MSFT), (IBM), (BIDU), (BABA), (TCEHY), (SFTBY), (SSNLF), (ASML), (SAP), (SIEGY)
The entire 2023 has emerged as the watershed year for artificial intelligence (AI), a field resonating everywhere from corporate boardrooms to pop culture. Amidst AI chatter, a saga unfolds at OpenAI – yes, the brainiacs leading the charge – reminding us of AI's unresolved complexities and staggering potential.
Generative AI is set to shake up a whopping 300 million jobs and could be churning out a jaw-dropping $4.4 trillion annually. That's trillion with a “T!”
But it's not just a corporate scramble; nations are also in a high-stakes race for AI supremacy, shaping a new geopolitical landscape.
However, this race isn’t focused on who can create the most advanced AI. It’s about who's calling the shots on AI applications, where the big bucks and brainpower are flowing, what the rulebook looks like, and how we’re keeping the tech titans in check.
Leading the pack in this global derby are none other than the U.S. and China, duking it out in their digital cold war.
Then, there’s the EU, which has been bossing AI regulation, with the U.S. trailing behind, and Canada – yes, the polite North – is the dark horse with its very own AI strategy.
In corners of the world like India, there's a race to hoard data, while Iran, sanctions and all, is elbowing its way to the top 10 in AI.
Truth be told, the U.S. and China sitting pretty at the top of the leaderboard isn't a shocker. The U.S. is hell-bent on keeping its lead in AI, while China is eyeing the crown of being the top AI innovation hub with a hefty RMB 10 trillion ($1.5 trillion) target by 2030.
Things got real when the White House threw a curveball, banning chip exports to China. Talk about upping the ante.
Now, here's where it gets even more interesting. In 2022, Uncle Sam saw 524 AI startups get funded. That's leagues ahead of everyone else.
Over the past decade, U.S. AI firms have been raking in the dough, outdoing Chinese firms by more than double.
The private sector is flexing its muscles, taking its share in AI from a measly 11% in 2010 to a whopping 96% in 2021. And get this – 70% of AI PhD hotshots in the States are working in the private sector.
Meanwhile, China's playing a different game. The government is the big player here, pushing AI in directions like drug development and gene research. They've got the world's biggest online crowd, so when they launch something like the Ernie Bot, it hits a million users in just 19 hours – ChatGPT took 5 days, just saying.
Now, let's dive into the movers and shakers in the AI world.
On the U.S. front, we've got giants like Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), and IBM Corporation (IBM) shaping the AI landscape. Alphabet's DeepMind is spearheading breakthroughs like protein structure prediction, while NVIDIA's GPUs are the muscle behind deep learning.
Microsoft's hefty investment in AI, including its partnership with OpenAI, is making waves, and IBM's Watson AI platform is a testament to their deep-rooted AI expertise.
Switching gears to China, Baidu, Inc. (BIDU), Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA), and Tencent Holdings Ltd. (TCEHY) are not just bystanders in the AI race.
Baidu is pushing the envelope with autonomous driving and AI chatbots, while Alibaba is using AI to revolutionize e-commerce and logistics.
Tencent, known for its investment in gaming and social media, is exploring various AI-driven technology solutions.
But it's not all about the U.S. and China. Look at Japan and South Korea. They’re pouring cash into AI to keep up with the times. Each has its own hurdles, though.
Japan’s staring down the barrel of a 789,000 software engineer shortage by 2030. That's going to sting their AI progress for sure.
And South Korea? They have tech chops but are sweating over a talent drought and less-than-stellar government backing. Their AI R&D budget got slashed by 43%, and their AI investment game lags behind the U.K.’s massive $18.2 billion.
Still, SoftBank Group Corp. (SFTBY) in Japan and Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SSNLF) have managed to remain major players, with SoftBank's Vision Fund making significant AI investments and Samsung advancing AI in electronics and smartphones.
Europe is not far behind, with the Netherlands’ ASML Holding NV (ASML) playing a pivotal role in the semiconductor industry, crucial for AI technologies.
In the UK, DeepMind Technologies, now a part of Alphabet's empire, is a critical part of AI innovation. And let's not overlook the EU's contributions, with Germany’s SAP SE (SAP) integrating AI into enterprise solutions, and Siemens AG (SIEGY) pioneering industrial AI applications.
In this global AI race, it's clear as day that whoever masters AI is going to be sitting pretty. Remember what Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, said about tech shaping empires? He’s not wrong. Even Vladimir Putin’s thrown in his two cents, saying AI's the new crown jewel.
As the AI world order shapes up, it's going to decide a lot: which AI toys get the limelight, who gets the economic goodies, what data trains our future robot overlords, and which biases we kick to the curb.
It's a tightrope walk between pushing the AI envelope and making sure we don’t trip over our shoelaces.
So, for all investors looking to take a piece of the AI action out there, keep your eyes peeled.
The AI map is being redrawn as we speak, and it’s going to dictate who gets to ride the AI wave and who’s left treading water. Welcome to the future, folks – it's here, and it's AI.
