Google, Looking to Tiptoe Back Into China, Announces A.I. Center

Google pulled some of its core businesses out of China seven years ago, after concluding that government controls and surveillance ran counter to its commitment to a free and open internet. Since then, as China's online scene has grown and prospered, the American search giant has been looking for ways to tiptoe back in. On Wednesday, it unveiled a small but symbolically significant move toward that end: a China-based center devoted to artificial intelligence. The move nods to the country's growing strength in A.I., thanks to substantial government funding prompted by Beijing's ambition of having a say in the technologies of the future. Google said the center would have a team of experts in Beijing, where the company has hundreds of employees in research and development, as well as other roles.