A lack of skilled workers is stopping many Asian companies from embracing artificial intelligence, according to a new study by Microsoft and International Data Corporation. While artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to speed up innovation in the Asia Pacific region over the next few years, only 41% of companies in the region are currently using the technology, according to a recent Microsoft and International Data Corporation survey of business leaders and workers in 15 Asia Pacific countries. One of the main obstacles preventing companies in the region from embracing AI is a skills shortage, the study found. The report highlighted the fact that while a majority of companies say they are willing to invest and retrain workers, many lacked time and an understanding of where to start. China has launched an aggressive campaign to dominate the AI space through public and private investments into the technology, aiming to be a world leader in AI innovation by 2030.

The U.N.'s intellectual property organization says companies in Japan, South Korea and the United States are among the top filers of patent applications for artificial intelligence.

Asian startups, including China-backed ventures, are struggling to keep pace with Western rivals in several spheres of artificial intelligence (AI) development, new research shows. And their reluctance to embrace and endorse emerging industry standards may eventually leave them isolated from potential strategic partners and blocked from particular market segments. China leads the pack in Asia with 383 AI startups, according to studies by consultancy Roland Berger and investment firm Asgard Capital, both based in Germany. However, Beijing is still well behind the US, home to 1,393 startups, according to the same research. Japan (113 startups), India (82), South Korea (42) and Singapore (35) are the other Asian pacesetters; Australia has 27 startups in Oceania.

My Maths tutor used to tell me as a child, "If you have spent two hours on 20 problems and you've solved all correctly, that's two hours wasted." We are intelligent species who should not be wasting our time doing redundant work for we are meant for better. This helps in explaining the doubtful existence of the fastest booming and most insecure topic of the 21st century -- artificial intelligence -- for the human mind seeks to create greater things to make life easier (or lazier). Technology has made a journey at the speed of light years. Coding smarter technologies is easier than waiting out the uncertainty of a cow's genetic evolution.