A.I. Standards: What's Next?

Nov 03 2016

Stephen Ibaraki

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Top artificial intelligence (AI) experts discussed the challenges and opportunities facing cutting-edge AI technologies at the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly 2016 (WTSA-16) in Hammamet, Tunisia this week.

“There’s a whole ecosystem that’s being built that’s bringing whole new products and services,” said Mr. Neil Sahota, WorldWide Business Development Leader & IBM Master Inventor at IBM Watson Group, told a panel discussion held to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T). “Ten years from now, almost every product or service will have some component of AI to it. … By 2020, 90% of data will be video or image. We don’t have the computing power to process it.”

“Only AI has the power to analyze the data to solve the problems facing our future,” said world-renowned AI expert and futurist Stephen Ibaraki, who moderated the panel, which also included Dr. Thomas Wiegand, Executive Director of Fraunhofer Heinrich and Dr. Mike Hinchey, Director of the Irish Software Engineering Research Centre (Lero).

The panelists also discussed how timely development of global standards will be important to facilitate wider global adoption of AI technologies and in order to truly tap into AI’s potential, which includes accelerating the use of information communication technologies for social good.

The panel ended with an announcement that ITU would co-host a two-day event on AI for Social good with IBM Watson’s XPrize next summer.

“AI innovation will be central to achievement of the SDGs [United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals], said Mr. Ibaraki.

To learn more about what’s next for AI, watch the video below of an ITU News interview with Mr. Ibaraki.

Stephen Ibaraki