When you think about computer scientists, you might envision a scrawny person with glasses and acne coding all night. Shanka Jayasinha is the complete opposite. The former Miami Hurricane allies brains & brawn as he is currently putting together a venture capital & private equity fund focusing on AI companies. Jayasinha explores the different ways our world might change with this technology in his latest book Welcome to Tomorrow: An Introductory Handbook to AI and its Impact on Society.
In his book, Jayasinha first introduces the main concepts of AI and traces its history up to today before talking about the social and political impact it will have. He also keeps a chapter at the end the book for the purists in which he showcases the different algorithms used in machine learning and the associated statistical concepts. The most interesting part is his take on the tech war between the USA & China for which he has compiled several detailed elements:
“If we look at global market capitalizations as of Q2 2019, Americans companies dominate. Out of the 7 top companies 5 are American and only 2 are Chinese but
in terms of users, China has the advantage as it has more depth with 1.5 Billion wireless users which represents more than 3 times the number of American users.”
After going through each strength and weakness of each nation, the battle for AI supremacy is shown to be extremely close with the Americans having more financial assets in AI against the Chinese who are more data rich. As his assessment continues, Jayasinha concludes that the country that will retain an edge will be the one that attracts the best talent. As he recalls his weekly visits to Santa Cruz, CA on the weekend where he saw the Valley’s families enjoying their time, he raises the following question:
“What would you choose between relaxing on sunny Californian beaches or dipping your toes in the South Chinese sea, which may or may not been polluted by Japanese nuclear waste?”
You heard right China, you may have a chance at overthrowing the USA if you create your own Santa Cruz!
To read further on Jayasinha’s views, you can find Welcome to Tomorrow: An Introductory Handbook to AI and its Impact on Society on Amazon.
Find more about his AI ventures on edge-ai.net
