China identifies 17 key areas to make AI breakthroughs ZDNet

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has identified 17 key areas as priority for artificial intelligence (AI) development through inviting private enterprises and research institutions to lead key projects and set up near-term targets for 2020, as the country is determined to compete with the US in the global AI races with an aim to lead the competition by 2030. What is AI? Everything you need to know about Artificial Intelligence The 17 key areas for AI development in China include intelligent vehicles, intelligent service robots, intelligent drones, neural network chips, and intelligent manufacturing among others, the official ministry said last week according to a Sina news report. The move aims to "select a group of enterprises and scientific research institutions that have mastered the key AI technologies, have strong innovation capabilities, and have great development potential", to break the bottleneck in China's AI development, cultivate a force of enterprises in innovation and development, accelerate deep integration between China's AI industry and economy, and promote innovation and development, according to the notice. By 2020, China are hoping to make breakthroughs in key technologies such as smart chips for autonomous driving, vehicle intelligent algorithms, and vehicle communications. Intelligent service robots should be able to achieve environment perception, natural interaction, independent learning and human-machine collaboration, with China hoping that they can be mass produced for home and public service purposes, according to the notice.