Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/5039
ai Bio enhanceD nano neuro humor ForeVer young 18 winter 2009 ai (Full disclosure: I spent a month at Hugo's lab in Xiamen this summer, and Hugo and I recently received word that the Chinese National Science Foundation has approved a grant to fund his lab to pursue some of our joint research on cognitive robotics, aimed at enabling the Nao humanoid robot to learn, reason and communicate in English and Chinese. I've even debated making a move to Xiamen myself. So I can't claim great objectivity on this topic... and indeed it was with some personal fascination that I presented the question that titles this article to a variety of individuals involved with AI research and software technology in China.) Dr. hugo de garis, the father of evolvable hardware and a redoubtable aI researcher, moved to china several years ago, and is now leading the artificial Brain lab at Xiamen University. he is convinced a Singularity in the vein of Vinge and Kurzweil is likely to occur later this century — and that china is the most likely place for human-level artificial general Intelligence (agI) and the other critical technologies underlying the Singularity to arise. as hugo puts it: "china has a population of 1.3 billion. The US has a population of 0.3 billion. china has averaged an economic growth rate of about 10% over the past 3 decades. The US has averaged 3%. The chinese government is strongly committed to heavy investment into high tech. From the above premises, one can virtually prove, as in a mathematical theorem, that china in a decade or so will be in a superior position to offer top salaries (in the rich Southeastern cities) to creative, brilliant Westerners to come to china to build artificial brains — much more than will be offered by the US and europe. With the planet's most creative aI researchers in china, it is then almost certain that the planet's first artificial intellect to be built will have chinese characteristics." Is he right? Ai the chinese singularity BEN GOERTzEl PHOTOS BY RAJ DYE