A visitor interacts with an artificial intelligence robot at an exhibition in Wuzhen, East China's Zhejiang Province on Monday. (Photo/China News Service)
China could look beyond U.S. for cooperation: expert
Chinese companies are eyeing more artificial intelligence (AI) applications in the coming years, some of which will be integrated with traditional sectors to promote the nation's industrial upgrading, executives said on Monday. [Special coverage]
At the 4th World Internet Conference (WIC), which runs from Sunday to Tuesday in Wuzhen, East China's Zhejiang Province, technology giants such as Baidu Inc and Xiaomi Inc showcased their ambitious AI plans.
"AI will have an unexpected influence on every aspect of our lives… We have been exploring [its use] in home appliance and we'll unveil a new anti-fatigue driving monitoring system by cooperating with FAW Group," said Baidu CEO Robin Li Yanhong at a sideline event during the WTC.
Major progress has been made in the AI sector in recent years thanks to advances in data collection as well as breakthroughs in algorithms and processing power. Some executives in China are expressing anxiety when talking about AI, which is seen as a significant turning point for the nation's technology industry.
"When the AI era becomes reality, all companies will have to embrace it, as was the case when the mobile Internet revolution took place," Xiaomi founder Lei Jun told an event. He said that Xiaomi sees great potential in this sector, which was the reason why the smartphone maker incubated 100 smart hardware companies four years ago.
Those companies are expected to generate more than 20 billion yuan 2017 in revenue on Xiaomi's open platform, Lei noted.
Baidu and Xiaomi, along with other Internet companies in China, have all accelerated their AI business development in recent years.
The Chinese government is also supporting the AI sector. It unveiled new guidelines in July that call for surpassing 150 billion yuan ($23 billion) in market scale the next five years, with related industries worth more than 1 trillion yuan.
Achievement in AI is seen as a major means to strengthen and develop the digital economy, a theme that's a highlight of the WIC.
A major driver for the growth of the AI sector is the tremendous amount of data generated by various devices ranging from automobiles to wearables, Tom Rosamilia, senior vice president of IBM Corp, said during the event. He noted that technology will change both jobs and the way they are done.
While AI applications have been expanding in the consumer sector, they could also change the dynamics of business operations, Li of Baidu said.
For example, by empowering a supermarket with AI technologies in its logistics services, its profits could increase by 20 percent and its damage rate could fall by 30 percent, Li noted.
When it comes to cooperation and competition in AI development, China is often compared with the U.S. The McKinsey Global Institute noted in a report released in April that China and the U.S. are now the world leaders in AI development.
In terms of AI applications in industries such as medicine and manufacturing, "China may be advised to look beyond the U.S.," Hans Uszkoreit, chief AI advisor of Lenovo, told the Global Times after the event. He noted that China could explore more cooperation opportunities with European countries such as Germany, which has a rich expertise in traditional industries such as manufacturing.
Highly skilled people, along with abundant data and industries that are eager to upgrade, are three major advantages for China to maintain its AI growth momentum.
Cooperation among industries should be further strengthened, with a focus on AI, not only in China but also around the globe, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Chen Zhaoxiong told the event.
