China's quest for AI glory leads to 400 new university majors in big data, AI - Study International

The Asian superpower is cementing its position as the world leader in big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, as its government announces plans to unleash a massive number of university majors in this field. Its universities will offer around 400 new majors related to these emerging technologies, as well as 612 new engineering research projects, China's Ministry of Education (MOE) announced last week, as reported by the People's Daily Online. "AI and big data are newly established majors and will be taught in some directions like computer application technology, information and communication, control science and engineering," Fan Hailin, Deputy Director of MOE's Department of Higher Education said. The new courses show China's ambitions for global leadership in two areas: AI and higher education. Analysts predict it will probably win the former, as the US shows no signs of national technology investment strategies that could compete with China's.