China enters the battle for AI talent

Zhang Yong, head of Chinese tech giant Alibaba, introduces the company's artificial intelligence ET Brain at a conference in December 2017.Credit: Li Xin/Xinhua via ZUMA A mountainous district in western Beijing known for its temples and mushroom production is tipped to become China's hub for industries based on artificial intelligence (AI). Last week, the Chinese government announced that it will spend 13.8 billion yuan (US$2.1 billion) on an AI industrial park -- the first major investment in its plan to become a world leader in the field by 2030. But scientists there wonder whether the proposed 55-hectare AI park, in the Mentougou district 30 kilometres away from the city centre, will be able to attract enough researchers. The government wants it to house 400 companies that will make an estimated 50 billion yuan a year developing products and services in cloud computing, big data, biorecognition and deep learning. "I don't see any top talent willing to go to work and live there," says a scientist working at an AI start-up in Beijing, who asked to remain anonymous because the government is sensitive to criticism.