Artificial Intelligence In Asia: Key National Initiatives And Implications

Across Asia, governments are increasingly seeking to leverage the potential of AI with a mix of coordinated top-down approaches, and by providing incentives and support to the private sector to lead development. We view that the potential for AI is greatest in markets where governments have a vested interest in developing'smart', digital infrastructure; this is especially the case for developed markets, where governments are forced to leverage new, innovative technologies for productivity growth, as capital deepening and expanding the labour force become less reliable growth drivers. At the same time, we view that countries with strong institutional and business environments will stand to benefit the most from AI (see'What Our Clients Want To Know: The Fourth Industrial Revolution', October 2 2019). China Sees Bustling Activity, Set To Be Asia's Leader Over the years, China's protectionist Internet market, and relative lax in rules governing data use has resulted in the rise of several well-established consumer Internet players in Tencent, Baidu, Alibaba, and ByteDance, among others, which have become extremely adept at leveraging data on their customers as key pillars of their overall strategy. The government further adopts a very centrally-coordinated approach the overall development of the technological landscape; its'Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan', launched in mid-2017, highlights a structured timeline to boost its position as a world leader in the technology by 2030 by, among others, investing up to USD15bn into projects which it deems strategically important for AI development.