Asian Companies Show Success in AI Uptake

Asian companies lead the world in AI deployment, new research argues.

What’s new: Market research by MIT Technology Review Insights found that companies in the Asia-Pacific region are using machine learning faster and with better results than any other part of the world.

What they found: The authors interviewed over 1,000 executives and directors from businesses in a range of economic sectors around the globe. Roughly one-fifth work for companies in the Asia-Pacific region.

Ninety-six percent of the Asian executives interviewed said their companies were using AI, compared to 85 percent in the rest of the world. Both numbers have increased sharply since 2017.
Asian companies appear to be getting the most benefit from the technology, too. Forty-six percent of Asia-Pacific executives reported that their AI investments were exceeding expectations, as opposed to 37 percent of executives elsewhere.
Their businesses are using AI mostly to manage information technology, improve customer service, and conduct research and development.
Use of AI in sales and marketing is on the rise. While a third of Asian respondents have deployed models in these areas, 61 percent plan to by 2023. E-commerce sales driven by Covid-19, the authors say, will add momentum to AI-powered online customer service.

Data-driven growth: Nearly half of Asian executives surveyed said their companies’ AI ambitions were hindered by a lack of access to high-quality data. Most said that better legal protections and industry standards regarding data privacy and security would make them more willing to share datasets with other companies. Third-party data-sharing platforms like Singapore’s nonprofit Ocean Protocol could be part of the solution, the authors write.

Behind the news: Several Asia-Pacific governments have provided major support for IT infrastructure.

South Korea committed $4 billion last summer toward research and development including AI.
Singapore provides worthy startups with accreditation that helps attract investors.
In 2017, China released a national AI plan that includes a $2 billion R&D center near Beijing.

Why it matters: The survey shows that AI is thriving in places where the government provides both regulatory clarity and institutional support.

We’re thinking: Every country should develop policies to foster AI development or risk getting left behind.