Thevenueforthetournamentisamodern-lookingtechnologyparkinHaikou,capitaloftheislandofHainan.Outside,modernhigh-risesloomoveragingneighborhoods.Thosegatheredtoplaythemachineincludeseveralpokerchamps,somewell-knownChineseinvestors,entrepreneurs,andCEOs,andeventheoddtelevisioncelebrity.Thegamesarebeingbroadcastonline,andmillionsarewatching.TheeventsymbolizesagrowingsenseofexcitementandenthusiasmforartificialintelligenceinChina,butthere’salsoaproblem.Lengpudashiwasn’tmadeinHainan,Beijing,orShanghai;itwasbuiltinPittsburgh,U.S.A.
FormanyinChina,thissimplywon’tdo.Thecountryisnowembarkingonanunprecedentedefforttomasterartificialintelligence.Itsgovernmentisplanningtopourhundredsofbillionsofyuan(tensofbillionsofdollars)intothetechnologyincomingyears,andcompaniesareinvestingheavilyinnurturinganddevelopingAItalent.Ifthiscountry--wideeffortsucceeds—andtherearemanysignsitwill—ChinacouldemergeasaleadingforceinAI,improvingtheproductivityofitsindustriesandhelpingitbecomeleaderincreatingnewbusinessesthatleveragethetechnology.Andif,asmanybelieve,AIisthekeytofuturegrowth,China’sprowessinthefieldwillhelpfortifyitspositionasthedominanteconomicpowerintheworld.
ArtificialintelligencemayhavebeeninventedintheWest,butyoucanseeitsfuturetakingshapeontheothersideoftheworld.
Thegovernment’scalltoactionwillacceleratewhathasalreadybeguntohappen.Thecountry’stechcompanies,ledbytheInternetgiantsBaidu,Alibaba,andTencent,arehiringscoresofAIexperts,buildingnewresearchcenters,andinvestingindatacentersthatrivalanythingoperatedbyAmazon,Google,orMicrosoft.MoneyisalsopouringintocountlessstartupsasChineseentrepreneursandinvestorsspyahugeopportunitytoharnessAIindifferentindustries.
ChinahassomebigadvantagesinAI.Ithasawealthoftalentedengineersandscientists,forone.ItalsoisrichinthedatanecessarytotrainAIsystems.Withfewerobstaclestodatacollectionanduse,Chinaisamassinghugedatabasesthatdon’texistinothercountries.Theresultscanbeseeninthegrowthoffacial-recognitionsystemsbasedonmachinelearning:theynowidentifyworkersatofficesandcustomersinstores,andtheyauthenticateusersofmobileapps.
ToexploreChina’sAIrevolutionanditsimplications,I’vetraveledtotheheartofthisboomandmetwithmanyofthekeyresearchers,entrepreneurs,andexecutives.FromChina’sbustlingcapitaltoitsfactory-filledsouth,andfromanambitiousnewresearchcentertoabillion-dollarstartup,onethingisclear:artificialintelligencemayhavebeeninventedintheWest,butyoucanseeitsfuturetakingshapeontheothersideoftheworld.
LeegivesatalkentirelyinMandarintoanauditoriumpackedwithabout300Chinesestudents.Heisdressedimpeccably,inanexpensive-lookingsuitanddressshirt,andhespeaksinaconfident,soothingtone.Thetalktouchesontheinterwoventrendsthathavedriventherecentriseinmachineintelligence:morepowerfulcomputers,ingeniousnewalgorithms,andhugequantitiesofdata.HearguesthatChinaisperfectlypoisedtotakeadvantageoftheseadvances.
“TheU.S.andCanadahavethebestAIresearchersintheworld,butChinahashundredsofpeoplewhoaregood,andwaymoredata,”hetellstheaudience.“AIisanareawhereyouneedtoevolvethealgorithmandthedatatogether;alargeamountofdatamakesalargeamountofdifference.”
IntheaudienceareexactlythetypeofprizedstudentswhowouldnormallyflocktoSiliconValley.ButmanyareclearlytakenbyLee’smessageofopportunitiesinChina.Thecrowdhangsonhiseveryword,andsomepeopleclamorforautographsafterward.“TodaytheU.S.hasatechnologyleadership,”Leetellsmelater.“ButChinahasatremendousamountofpotential.”
“Thetitansofindustry[inChina]haveseenfortunesmadeandfortuneslostallwithintheirlifetime.”
AlphaGo’svictoriesinWuzhenarefollowedcloselyintheChinesecapital.AsIenterSinovation’sinstitute,infact,InoticeaGoboardonwhichengineersaretestingoutthemovesmadeduringsomeofthematches.
Thelocationoftheinstituteiswellchosen.Fromtheofficewindows,youcanseethecampusesofbothPekingUniversityandTsinghuaUniversity,twoofChina’stopacademicinstitutions.Sinovationprovidesmachine-learningtoolsanddatasetstotrainChineseengineers,anditoffersexpertiseforcompanieshopingtomakeuseofAI.Theinstitutehasabout30full-timeemployeessofar,buttheplanistoemploymorethan100bynextyear,andtotrainhundredsofAIexpertseachyearthroughinternshipsandbootcamps.Rightnow,roughly80percentoftheinstitute’sfundingandprojectsareaimedatcommercializingAI,whiletherestisfocusedonmorefar-outtechnologyresearchandstartupincubation.
Thegoalisn’ttoinventthenextAlphaGo,though;it’stoupgradethousandsofcompaniesacrossChinausingAI.LeesaysmanyChinesebusinesses,includingthebigstate-ownedenterprises,aretechnologicallybackwardandripeforoverhaul,buttheylackanyAIexpertisethemselves.Needlesstosay,thispresentsanenormousopportunity.
Acrossthecapital,infact,Inoticearemarkableamountofinterestinartificialintelligence.Inonerestaurant,forinstance,IfindamachinethattakesmypictureandthensupposedlyusesAItodeterminehowhealthyIam.Thisseemscompletelyimpossible,butthemachinesaysI’mingreatshapebeforesuggestingthatIhaveplentytoeat.
中国曾经领先于世界
未来我们将再次成为领导者
EarlierthisyearSenseTime’sengineersdevelopedanovelimage-processingtechniqueforautomaticallyremovingsmogandrainfromphotographs,andanotherfortrackingfull-bodymotionusingasinglecamera.Lastyeartheywerepartofateamthatwonaprestigiousinternationalcomputer-visionaward.
IntheUnitedStatesandotherWesternnations,manylargesectors,suchasmanufacturingandservices,havebeenslowtoinvestinAIandchangetheirbusinesspractices.InChina,thereappearstobeagreatersenseofurgencyaboutadaptingtothechangingtechnology.Acrossjustabouteveryindustry,ChinesecompaniesareshruggingofftheirreputationforfollowingWesternbusinesses,andinvestingheavilyinresearchanddevelopment.Ng,whopreviouslyledBaidu’sAIeffort,saysChina’sbusinessleadersunderstandbetterthanmosttheneedtoembracenewtrends.“Thetitansofindustry[inChina]haveseenfortunesmadeandfortuneslostallwithintheirlifetime,”hesays.“Whenyouseethetechtrendsshift,youhadbettermovequickly,orsomeoneelsewillbeatyou.”
Baiduanticipatedthepotentialofartificialintelligenceandsoughttoleverageittoreinventitswholebusiness.In2014,thecompanycreatedalabdedicatedtoapplyingdeeplearningacrossitsbusiness,andinrecentyears,itsresearchershavemadesomesignificantadvances.WhenMicrosoftdevelopedasystemcapableofbetter-than-humanperformanceinspeechrecognitionlastyear,forinstance,fewWesternreportersrealizedthatBaiduhaddonethatayearearlier.
ShenzhenisnestlednexttoHongKonginsouthernChina.Approachingbyair,IseeanarmadaofcargoshipsmooredintheSouthChinaSea.In1980,whenShenzhenwasasmallmarkettown,itwasdesignatedChina’sfirstSpecialEconomicZone,grantingitunprecedentedeconomicandregulatoryfreedoms.Manufacturingempireswerebuiltonthebacksofmigrantworkersproducingeveryimaginableproduct,andthepopulationrosefrom30,000tomorethan11million.Inrecentyears,thecityhasreflectedChina’stechnologicalprogress,anditisnowhometoglobaltechnologycompaniesincludingthenetworkinggiantHuawei,thesmartphonemakerZTE,andtheelectric-carcompanyBYD.
There’snoreasonwhyChina’sAI-fueledeconomicprogressshouldcomeattheexpenseofothercountries,ifthosecountriesembracethesametechnologyjustaskeenly.
IaskhimifTencentmightbeplanningsomespectaculardemonstrationsofAI,somethinglikeAlphaGoorLengpudashi.Tencentownsseveralverypopulargames,includingthestrategytitleLeagueofLegends,whichisplayedbymorethan100millionpeopleeverymonth.LikeGo,itrequiresinstinctiveactions,andlikepoker,itinvolvesplayingwithoutaclearpictureofyouropponents’standing.Butitalsorequiresplanningfarahead,soitwouldbeaworthygameforAIresearcherstotacklenext.“Rightnow,wehaveabunchofsmallprojects—somearemoreadventurous,”isallZhangwillsay.
ItmightbeunnervingforWesternnationstoseeanewcomermasteringanimportanttechnology,especiallywhenthefullpotentialofthattechnologyremainsuncertain.ButitiswrongtoviewthisstorysimplyintermsofcompetitionwiththeWest.
AbigproblemfacingboththeU.S.andChinaisslowingeconomicgrowth.WhileAImayeliminatecertainjobs,italsohasthepotentialtogreatlyexpandtheeconomyandcreatewealthbymakingmanyindustriesfarmoreefficientandproductive.ChinahasembracedthatsimplefactmoreeagerlyandmorecompletelythanmanyWesternnations.Butthere’snoreasonwhyChina’sAI-fueledeconomicprogressshouldcomeattheexpenseofothercountries,ifthosecountriesembracethesametechnologyjustaskeenly.
Chinamighthaveunparalleledresourcesandenormousuntappedpotential,buttheWesthasworld--leadingexpertiseandastrongresearchculture.RatherthanworryaboutChina’sprogress,itwouldbewiseforWesternnationstofocusontheirexistingstrengths,investingheavilyinresearchandeducation.Theriskismissingoutonanincrediblyimportanttechnologicalshift.Yes,companieslikeGoogleandFacebookaremakingimportantstridesinAItoday,butthisisn’tenoughtorebootawholeeconomy.DespitethefanfarearoundAI,therearefeweconomicsigns—suchasincreasedproductivity—thatmostoftheeconomyistakingadvantageofthetechnologyyet.LargesegmentsoftheeconomybeyondSiliconValley,likemedicine,serviceindustries,andmanufacturing,alsoneedtosignon.
Thegamewascreatedfromclipsandkeyboardinputsalone,asademoforreal-timeinteractivevideogeneration.
Atwo-hourinterviewisenoughtoaccuratelycaptureyourvaluesandpreferences,accordingtonewresearchfromStanfordandGoogleDeepMind.
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