Inside the Chinese lab that plans to rewire the world with AI

The ticket kiosks at Shanghai's frenetic subway station have a mind of their own. Walk up to one and state your destination, and it'll automatically recommend a route before issuing a ticket. In the interest of reducing the rush-hour stampede, the system is set up to let you find information and buy tickets without pushing a button or talking to a person. More impressive still, all this happens successfully in the middle of a crowded, noisy station. Each kiosk has to figure out who is speaking to it; zero in on that person's voice within the crowd; transcribe the incoming speech; parse its meaning; and compare the person's face against a massive database of photos--all within a few seconds.