UNESCO: AI and robotics are the most popular fields in science

Over the past five years artificial intelligence and robotics have dominated the scientific landscape. This is the conclusion reached by UNESCO researchers, VentureBeat reports.

According to the report, artificial intelligence and robotics dominated in the scientific environment from 2018 to 2019 in countries with any income level. In 2019, scientists worldwide published nearly 150,000 articles on these topics, which is 44% more than in 2015. For comparison, in 2019 there were 18,000 publications on biotechnology.

Low- and lower-middle-income countries accounted for 25.3% of publications in this field in 2019, up from 12.8% in 2015. This clearly demonstrates that interest in AI is global in scope, the researchers say.

They found that over the past five years more than 30 countries worldwide have adopted concrete AI strategies, including China, Russia, the United States, India, Mauritius and Vietnam.

Tiffany Straza, deputy editor of the Reports Group, said that the United States has focused on using artificial intelligence to create jobs and prevent the emigration of AI specialists.

Russia, she said, has also focused on retaining talent within the country who work in these areas.

“It is an important issue for Russia as a whole, as the number of scientists and technical specialists in the country is aging. Young people have moved into other fields, there is a brain drain … Russia, in general, is making substantial efforts in science, and we see that reflected in AI”, Straza said.

China has focused on expanding and improving local expertise and innovation in AI. By 2030, the country aims to become a “global centre of AI innovation”. China is already the world’s largest holder of AI patents, she added.

The analyst also believes that the business community will maintain interest in artificial intelligence and machine learning, but its use in the security realm will be particularly controversial in the coming years.

Over a year and a half, 70 authors from 52 countries worked on the 762-page document. The report is published every five years to study current trends in the scientific sphere.

Earlier in May 2021, military experts warned that the hype around artificial intelligence could harm the Pentagon.

In March, the National Security Commission on AI published a report on maintaining the United States’ technological dominance with recommendations for government and business leaders.

A week later, the Chinese government presented a five-year plan to accelerate the development of advanced technologies , including artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

In 2020, China rose to the lead in the number of AI publications.

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