SIR has ranked global research and education institutions since 2009. The ranking is based on their performance and the number of articles they’ve published in highly-regarded publications.

In the field of AI, the UK ranks number one in Europe and fourth globally. Iran ranks number one in the Middle-East and is ninth overall among the 152 countries featured.

Here are the top 10 countries for AI in the latest SIR:

China is leading AI developments overall. The US is in second place and leads AI developments in the Western hemisphere.

Defense considerations

Despite widespread concern, it’s almost inevitable AI will increasingly creep into military applications. With that in mind, it’s hard not to consider ongoing tensions and how it might apply to future conflicts like those in the Middle-East.

Tensions with Iran, particularly with the US and UK, have been increasing in recent years – especially in the wake of American allegations that the Iranians haven’t been meeting their obligations under the nuclear deal reached in 2015. The US controversially pulled out of the treaty and imposed sanctions on the state.

Since then, a series of conflicts have occurred. An example of such a case where AI may play a key role in the future was Iran’s downing of a US drone in June.

AI superiority from the American side may have enabled the drone to take evasive action to avoid being shot down. On the other hand, AI technologies on the Iranian side could have automated the downing of any unauthorised aircraft.

Some have likened the race to AI superiority to the nuclear arms race so we can only hope it’s less devastating. However, increasing capabilities between new and age-old rivals won’t do anything to ease such concerns.

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According to a report by LinkedIn, there are currently more than 50,000 AI professionals working in China. The leader, the United States, has 850,000 professionals working in the industry.

Wang Di, VP of LinkedIn China, said:

“The core technique of AI is closely related to computer science, in which the US has maintained an absolute advantage in the past 20 years.”

China is expected to surge up the rankings over the coming years as interest grows in a market with huge opportunities and offering large financial rewards for talent.

The country is also often seen as offering a great regulatory environment for AI development – for the very reason it has less regulations than most Western markets, in particular, regarding things such as data protection.

What about Europe?

Easier access to data makes it easier to build things such as machine learning models. In an editorial for our sister publication IoT News, I spoke to a solicitor for Digital Law UK about why ill-thought regulations such as the EU’s recent GDPR puts AI startups in the West at risk of being left behind.

Of course, there needs to be a balance struck between data protection and the freedom to innovate. Many see the U.S. as getting the balance somewhat right, whereas Europe is too strict.

Peter Wright, Solicitor and MD of Digital Law UK, on EU regulation says:

“It’s a particular problem when you’re looking at the US where in places like California they are not under these same pressure.

You’ve got your Silicon Valley startup that can access large amounts of money from investors, access specialist knowledge in the field, and will not be fighting with one arm tied behind its back like a competitor in Europe.”

Julia Reda, an MEP and organiser of the ‘Digital Single Market – Rocket fuel for EU Startups?’ event, said:

“When we’re trying to regulate the likes of Google, how do we ensure that we’re not also setting in stone that any European competitor that might be growing at the moment would never emerge in the first place?”

In LinkedIn’s report, India, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and France took second to sixth place in the rankings.

The UK remains Europe’s hub for AI as a result of its world-leading universities, government investment, ease of setting up business, and the highest levels of foreign direct investment in the region.

Which nations do you think will pioneer AI over the next decade?

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