Source:
https://scmp.com/tech/tech-leaders-and-founders/article/2172497/digital-economy-and-ai-key-chinas-post-internet
Tech/ Tech leaders and founders

Digital economy and AI key to China’s post-internet future, say country’s tech leaders

  • Tencent will allocate US$140 million to establish an award for young researchers in fundamental science and cutting-edge core technologies
  • AI to work with biological and medical developments to prolong lifespans and improve quality of life, says Baidu CEO

Chinese tech leaders articulated their vision for the post-internet future at the World Internet Conference held this past week, with artificial intelligence, complete digitisation of the economy and a call for more basic science being among the topics of discussion – though it was mostly a local affair with the absence of high profile US tech company representatives amid the ongoing US-China trade war.

“Artificial intelligence and the internet represent two different eras,” said Baidu CEO Robin Li Yanhong on Thursday. “We will step into the AI era in the coming three to five decades while the previous 20 years belonged to internet.”