China launches new AI programme as race against the US for supremacy heats up
- China has announced a new programme to promote artificial intelligence (AI) in science and technology research
- The project will focus on key fields, like drug development, gene research and biology, while strengthening guidance
China will accelerate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in science and technology research, the newly empowered Ministry of Science and Technology has announced, as Beijing directs more resources to emerging technologies amid intensifying competition with the United States.
The plan, dubbed Artificial Intelligence for Science, was launched by the science ministry and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.
The project will focus on major problems in basic disciplines, as well as research needs in key science and technology fields, such as drug development, gene research and biology breeding, Xinhua said.
Xu Bo, director of the Institute of Automation at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who is the head of the project, said that AI technology has shown “powerful capabilities beyond traditional methods of mathematics or physics in many scientific research fields”.
“But in terms of the systematic layout of artificial intelligence-driven scientific research, design, interdisciplinary integration etc. There is still room for improvement,” Xu was quoted as saying by Xinhua.