In a Politburo group study session last week Chinese President Xi Jinping identified seven sectors where AI promises huge potential, asserting “AI is a key driving force of the new round of scientific revolution and industrial reform.”
Group study sessions are where Politburo members invite top domestic experts to speak on issues of national interest. While the meetings are not designed to produce policy outcomes, they send signals regarding current policy focuses and can indicate endorsement of policies or principles. The day after last week’s AI study session, public Chinese AI companies iFlytek, Hanwang Technology, and Wisesoft saw their stock rise by daily price limits.
Education
AI is seen as a solution for issues hobbling the Chinese education sector, such as a significant teacher quality gap. The tech is capable of building a much wider knowledge base than human teachers and can deliver personalized educational content.
The AI education concept is gaining traction: 84 million users, mostly from China, are currently polishing their English skills with an AI-enabled learning app called Liulishuo. The app uses machine learning algorithms to assess learner proficiency and recommend personalized courses. Founded in 2012, Liulishuo went public on the New York Stock Exchange this September.
AI is nowhere near replacing teachers who stand in front of a whiteboard delivering lectures, but rather is being used to empower E-learning systems or study apps that students use after school. Many however believe that AI will assume a more transformative role in teaching in a not-too-distant future.
Derek Haoyang Li, CEO of Shanghai-based AI & E-learning startup Squirrel AI Learning, told Synced that “AI will generally replace teachers in the work of imparting knowledge and teachers will spend more time helping students deal with complexity, diversity, and changes to prepare them for the future.” Chinese media have nicknamed Squirrel AI “China’s Knewton” and the company closed its most recent funding round with US$150 million.
Healthcare
Both local AI startups and Chinese tech giants are driving the adoption of AI in healthcare practices, according to CB Insights.
During the first five months of 2018, 11 different Chinese AI startups raised funding exceeding 1 billion yuan (US$150 million). AI imaging companies got the lion’s share, while the next wave of innovations and investments is expected to be in AI drug research and development. For example, XtalPi (Jingtai Technology), which specializes in drug development and research, received US$15 million this year from Google, Tencent and Sequoia Capital of China.
The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology has appointed Tencent to lead the development of an open AI platform for medical imaging and diagnostics. The Chinese Internet giant has already deployed its imaging screening products in more than 100 top Chinese hospitals.
Alibaba meanwhile has broadened its AI healthcare focus since 2016, and last year launched ET Medical Brain, an AI cloud platform that offers services ranging from AI-enabled diagnostics to intelligent scheduling based on a patient’s medical needs.
Sports
The Chinese sports markets, which have a substantial fanbase, have long been underexploited by AI innovators. An avid soccer fan, President Xi would love to see more commitments in this field, such as AI assistant coaches, data analysis, intelligent sports live stream services, and so on.
At the recent state-backed World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, a table tennis robot called Pongbot made a surprisingly successful debut against a human player.
Housing
President Xi has more than once emphasized the importance of a stable and affordable supply of rental housing. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese flocking to the major cities has led to shortages of quality rental housing, and the government is encouraging developers to increase the supply.
Will AI make a difference? It is happening right now. Tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent are venturing into the property rental market. Alibaba’s affiliate Ant Financial can waive the rental deposit for users with AI-enabled credit systems. This is just the beginning.
Transportation
Autonomous vehicles are booming in China, and now the country is eyeing a bigger picture: Smart Traffic development. In a recent report, Global consultancy firm Deloitte ranks major Chinese cities Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, and Hangzhou among the world’s mobility leaders based on metrics such as deployment of intelligent traffic lights, grids and ride-sharing.
More Chinese cities are turning to the tech giants to solve traffic congestion and realize their smart city dreams. Alibaba has developed a data-driven AI smart traffic platform called ET City Brain, which has been deployed in its headquarter city of Hangzhou and the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. City Brain aims to improve urban infrastructure with capabilities such as natural language processing and voice, image and text recognition.
Eldercare
China’s population is rapidly greying. Nearly one in four persons aged 60 or over in the world in 2015 lived in China, where the elder population is projected to grow by 71 percent between 2015 and 2030, according to the United Nations. Robotic Nurses have been well received in Japan, the UK, and Singapore, and their arrival in China is just a matter of time. In 2016, the Chinese government released its Robot Industry Development Plan (2016-2020), which projected robots entering the nursing industry within five years.
The companion robots market rose in 2015 and 2016, but has cooled recently due to high price and unsatisfactory user experience. Smart speakers equipped with voice recognition and conversational capabilities such as Baidu’s Xiaodu and Alibaba’s Tmall Genie are playing an increasing role in reducing social isolation and loneliness among nursing home residents.
Chinese most valued robotic startup UBTECH recently announced they are developing a nursing robot that can perform everyday tasks such as pouring beverages and delivering dishes, etc.
Housekeeping
While a versatile robot that can handle all the different household chores has not yet been developed, Chinese companies are producing task-based robots that can mop floors, clean windows, fold laundry, etc. The room vacuum cleaner remains the most popular household robot. It’s estimated that Chinese consumers will buy almost 5 million vacuum robots in 2018.
China has been aggressively encouraging artificial intelligence R&D over the last three years. The country published a 10-year roadmap last year, and aims to be a world AI leader by 2030. The Chinese government has directed US$7 billion to strengthening its AI capabilities.
The huge Chinese market produces a wealth of data that can be used to drive AI innovations. Last week’s announcement of seven focus sectors shows that China is not only addressing current opportunities, but also anticipating where AI may be most effectively applied in the future.
Journalist: Tony Peng | Editor: Michael Sarazen
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Thanks for all the informative