China guns for dominance in AI, builds out national labs

The Chinese government, who recently announced they want to build AI based cruise missiles and a new nationwide Social Credit Scoring system, has approved a plan to create a next generation artificial intelligence (AI) national laboratory network which is expected to help China close the gap with its Western counterparts, many of whom now seem to be driving at full speed towards a world where artificial intelligence is the norm, not the exception. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) approved plans for a national engineering lab to support the research and development of deep learning technologies last week, but in a twist the lab will be online only, and won't have a physical presence. The NDRC commissioned Baidu, the Chinese search engine giant, to create the lab in collaboration with Tsinghua University and Peking University, as well as the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, and the China Electronics Standardization Institute. The project will be led by Baidu's deep learning institute chief Lin Yuanqing and scientist Xu Wei, along with academics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhang Bo and Li Wei. Baidu, who by all accounts are rapidly becoming the Google of China, certainly with respect to AI, will also provide the deep learning computing, algorithms and big data for the project. The lab will focus on seven different areas of the field: deep learning, computer vision and sensing, computer listening, biometric identification, new forms of human-computer interaction, standardized services, and deep learning intellectual property rights.