Every Wednesday and Friday, TechNode's Briefing newsletter delivers a roundup of the most important news in China tech, straight to your inbox. Kai-Fu Lee, former president of Google China and now CEO of Sinovation Ventures, announced on Monday that he's building a new AI company called Project AI 2.0 that will focus on developing ChatGPT-like apps, as well as an ecosystem for AI-powered productivity tools. Lee shared his thoughts on the latest AI trends, including the concepts of AI 1.0 and 2.0 on March 14, at Sinovation Ventures' headquarters in Beijing. He said he considers ChatGPT to be a major breakthrough in deep learning, driving AI into the 2.0 era. Why it matters: As a renowned AI expert and venture capitalist, Lee said he sees AI as providing an opportunity to reconstruct almost all existing applications, just as Microsoft redesigned Microsoft Office into Copilot, giving Word, Excel, and other mainstream productivity tools AI and generative capabilities.

For many years now, China has been the world's factory. Even in 2020, as other economies struggled with the effects of the pandemic, China's manufacturing output was $3.854 trillion, up from the previous year, accounting for nearly a third of the global market. But if you are still thinking of China's factories as sweatshops, it's probably time to change your perception. The Chinese economic recovery from its short-lived pandemic blip has been boosted by its world-beating adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). After overtaking the U.S. in 2014, China now has a significant lead over the rest of the world in AI patent applications.

Editor's note: A leading figure in the Chinese tech scene and in artificial-intelligence development globally, Kai-Fu Lee earned a PhD in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University in 1988 before serving in executive roles at Apple, SGI, Microsoft, and Google, where he was president of Google China. Now chairman and CEO of Sinovation Ventures in Beijing, he is the author of AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order. Here, he discusses with Project Syndicate the global AI race, the current state of the field, and what may – and should – come next. Question: As someone who long worked for U.S. companies and now oversees a tech venture capital firm, you're deeply familiar with the world's two main settings for AI development and research. What are the trade-offs of each R&D environment?

AInnovation, the artificial intelligence (AI) unit created by Chinese venture capital firm Sinovation Ventures, has raised nearly 400 million yuan ($57 million) in a Series B round of financing led by China Renaissance's New Economy Fund. CICC Alpha, an investment platform of China International Capital Corporation (CICC), private equity firm SAIF Partners, CreditEase, a Chinese fintech firm specialized in wealth management and inclusive finance, and other investors also poured money into the investment, China Renaissance revealed in a statement on its WeChat official account on Wednesday. China Renaissance was the exclusive financial advisor of the deal. AInnovation was established in March 2018 by Sinovation Ventures, a technology-focused investment company led by former Google China head Kai-Fu Lee. The startup leverages AI technologies like computer vision, natural language processing (NLP), and machine learning to develop products and solutions for corporate clients, helping them improve business efficiency and realize digital transformation.

ABU DHABI -- The capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced the launch of the world's first university dedicated to artificial intelligence, in a bid to stay ahead of the disruptive technologies and diversify its economy from the reliance on oil. Named after the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and de facto leader of the UAE who has long championed science and technology development in UAE, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) will offer academic post-graduate (MSc and PhD) courses in three key fields of AI – computer vision, machine learning and natural language processing – with access to some of the world's most advanced AI systems to unleash its full potentials. All graduate-level students admitted to the school will be eligible for a full scholarship along with several benefits such as a monthly allowance, accommodation arrangements and health insurance. The first class of graduate students is scheduled to start coursework at MBZUAI campus in Masdar City, a new urban area in Abu Dhabi, in September 2020. "MBZUAI aligns with the vision of the UAE leadership that is based on sustainable development, progress and the overall well-being of humanity and underpinned by capacity-building and active participation in finding practical solutions based on innovation and state-of-the-art technology," said Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State, who also served as Chair of the university's Board of Trustees, at the press conference in Abu Dhabi.

Editor's note: Dr. Kai-fu Lee is the founder of Sinovation Venture and a strong advocate of the technology. The article reflects the author's views, and not necessarily those of CGTN. The 2019 World Economic Forum will open on January 22 in Davos, Switzerland. Innovation is expected to be one of the major topics at this year's World Economic Forum, and also the most important strength of any economy. Despite the hype over Artificial Intelligence (AI), machines still can't think like humans.

From emotion AI that can detect real-time changes in mood to self-driving cars, the world is drastically remoulded by digital and technological transformation. AI is even now capable of acting like a curious 3-year-old toddler who will knock the glass off the table "just to see what happens." Perhaps, one day dating apps can finally make better recommendations than the last guy you went out with. Tall, dark and handsome – doesn't the algorithm get it? The algorithm does get it and all too well, inadvertently displacing humans from blue and white-collar jobs at such an alarming rate that policy makers, economists and technocrats are sitting up. AI pundits, however, are optimistic and exhort us to focus on how we can collaborate with machines.

According to the World Economics Forum's The Future of Jobs 2018 report, machines will overtake humans in terms of performing more tasks at the workplace by 2025 -- but there could still be 58 million net new jobs created in the next five years. The report notes that the growing skills for 2022 will include analytical thinking, creativity, critical thinking, complex problem solving, and systems analysis. Also: Can humans get a handle on AI? The Future of Jobs Report 2018 also identified 10 emerging jobs in 2022, including data analysts and scientists, AI and machine learning specialists and general and operation managers as the top 3 jobs. AI and advancements in automation may result in 75 million job displacements, but at the same time period another 133 million new roles will emerge where people and machines will co-exist, creating a net new 58 million jobs by 2022.

There isn't much, if any, dispute that artificial intelligence will eliminate certain types of jobs done by humans, but experts here at the Techonomy conference at the Ritz Carlton Nov. 12 said the threat and solutions aren't well understood. "We see AI changing 90 percent of the work people do, and we think most companies are behind in preparing for that," said Paul Daugherty, chief technology and innovation officer at Accenture. Daugherty, who wrote the book, "Human Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI," is far more positive on the benefits of AI than others who say the technology could threaten our very existence. "In the aggregate, about 15 percent of jobs will be completely replaced, but the majority of jobs will be improved," Daugherty said. "We think about AI as collaborative intelligence and the right approach is to take the best of human skills and combine that with technology. But dialog on that has been absent."

Kai-Fu Lee is the chairman and CEO of Sinovation Ventures and president of the company's Artificial Intelligence Institute. Sinovation Ventures is a leading venture capital firm, managing US$1.7 billion dual currency investment funds, that is focusing on developing the next generation of Chinese high-tech companies. Kai-Fu has been in artificial intelligence research, development, and investment for more than 30 years. Previously, he was the president of Google China and held executive positions at Microsoft, SGI, and Apple.