China gets smarter on artificial intelligence

When Chinese Go master Ke Jie was comprehensively defeated by Google's artificial intelligence (AI) program AlphaGo on May 27 in the ancient canal town of Wuzhen, technology watchers around the world had to redraw the timeline in which AI rules the world. The artificial mind had swept all three matches against the world's top player, a feat once thought impossible, given Go's deep complexity compared with previous AI wins, such as in chess or checkers. The event also underscored continued Western dominance in the field of AI. AlphaGo was developed by the American search juggernaut's Deepmind unit, a British firm it acquired in 2014. But China is today nipping at the heels of the United States, long the undisputed leader in AI technology, and may soon be poised to edge ahead as it brings products to market at a quicker pace.