AI to be the 'new electricity,' says Baidu chief scientist- Nikkei Asian Review

The hype surrounding artificial intelligence has made AI a buzzword among policymakers and companies. But Andrew Ng, chief scientist at Chinese internet giant Baidu, says AI not only justifies the hype but predicts it will have the same kind of impact on society that the widespread introduction of electricity did. Ng was speaking at the Nikkei Innovation Forum: The Future of AI, Robots and Us, held in Silicon Valley on Wednesday local time and hosted by Nikkei Inc. "I make this analogy that AI is the new electricity. A lot of years ago, as we started to electrify the U.S., that transformed industry after industry," Ng said. "Everything from factories [to] agriculture, transportation and communications was transformed by electricity. I think that we now see a clear path for AI to transform multiple industries as well."