2018: Key Year of Artificial Intelligence in China

Support for the development and promotion of Artificial Intelligence is born from the deepest roots of state power in China that defined, for the new qualitative leap of that society, Innovation as its axis and Science and Technology as its sustenance.

Li Keqiang, the Prime Minister, summed it up by stating that "science and technology change the world, innovation forms the future".

The AI is expressly included. Xi Jinping, the President of China, described it this way: “We need to build an innovative world economy to generate new drivers of growth. Innovation holds the key to fundamentally unleashing the growth potential. The new round of scientific and industrial revolution with Internet at its core is gathering momentum, and new technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality are developing by leaps and bounds. The combination of the virtual economy and the real economy will bring revolutionary changes to our way of work and way of life”.

In the first volume of the Series "Artificial Intelligence in China in its direct sources”, Specific Policies (Kindle version) (Paperback version), the specific measures related to AI derived from that far-reaching political decision were collected, including some key milestones:

March 2015. Premier Li Keqiang Annual Report on the Work of the Government introduce The Internet Plus policy strategy and includes AI

June 2015. At a State Council executive meeting, Premier Li listed development of AI as one of the major tasks in pushing forward the internet Plus strategy, and rolled out related supporting measures.

July 2015. AI was included in the State Council’s guideline on promoting internet Plus action.

March 2016. The word “artificial intelligence” was listed into the 13th Five-Year plan.

May 2016. China will boost growth of the AI sector in the next three years, said the National Development and Reform Commission.

September 2016. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced its 13th Five-year Plan (2016-2020) outlining breakthrough programs in areas ranging artificial intelligence

February 2017 National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has approved Baidu's to establish national deep learning tech lab

March 2017 Artificial Intelligence was included in the Development and on the 2017 Draft Plan for National Economic and Social Development.

May 2017. Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road include Artificial Intelligence. Speech Chinese President Xi Jinping

May 2017. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will produce a white paper to promote the development of Artificial Intelligence and its application in industries

Support for Artificial Intelligence is also part of the Chinese policy of promoting geographical areas of scientific and technological development. Therefore, the first volume, Specific Policies, concludes with the collection of information on some experiences where the AI has explicitly been mentioned: Beijing, Shanghai and the provinces of Anhui, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hebei and Sichuan.

2018: China shall build platforms for fundamental AI resources

A key part of the policy to promote AI was the announcement by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), in May 2016, that, by 2018: “China shall build platforms for fundamental AI resources and innovation and make breakthroughs on basic core technology”.

The NDRC is responsible for several functions, including to formulate and implement strategies of national economic and social development, annual plans, medium and long-term development plans, To monitor macroeconomic and social development trend and provide forecast, To direct, promote and coordinate the restructuring of economic system, To push forward strategic economic restructuring; to organize the formulation of comprehensive industrial policies, coordinate key issues in the development of primary, secondary and tertiary industries, among others.

In February 2017, the NDRC approved Baidu's to establish national deep learning tech lab.

According to the State Council China, the highest executive collegial body, “the country shall be in line with global AI technology and industries by 2018, it said. The program will involve key projects such as intelligent home appliances, smart automobiles, intelligent wearable devices and robots. Government departments shall map out supportive fiscal policies for the sector and boost international cooperation, it said. China has been promoting the robotics industry as it strives to upgrade its manufacturing sector and address labor shortage. Last year, China announced the “Internet Plus” initiative to enable more businesses to take advantage of the Internet. Also last year, China unveiled the “Made in China 2025” blueprint, which aims to improve manufacturing and shift the country away from low-end manufacturing to more value-added production (State Council China, 2016)

Specifically, the Academy of Sciences detailed that the “country will cultivate and develop emerging artificial intelligence industries, promote innovation in intelligent products and enhance the intelligence level of terminal products. The program will involve key projects such as intelligent home appliances, smart automobiles, intelligent unmanned systems, intelligent wearable devices and robots. The country will also offer some guarantee measures involving financial support, intellectual property protection, talents, and international cooperation” (Chinese Academic of Sciences, 2016).

This was how Artificial Intelligence began to be taken into account as part of a set of strategic plans approved by the Chinese authorities themselves.

The second volume of the Series "Artificial Intelligence in China in its direct sources”, Strategic Policies, (Kindle version) (Paperback version), compiles the presence of AI in various strategic plans, including the 13th Five-Year Plan 2016-2020, Internet Plus Policy Strategy, Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Made in China 2025 and Healthy China 2030.

Walter Farah Calderón

References

Chinese Academic of Sciences. (24 de May de 2016). China Rolls out Three-year Program for AI Growth. (L. Jia, Editor, & Xinhua) Obtenido de CAS: http://english.cas.cn/newsroom/china_research/201605/t20160524_1634...

State Council China. (23 de May de 2016). China rolls out three-year program for AI growth. (Xinhua) Recuperado el 15 de May de 2017, de English Gov Cn: http://english.gov.cn/state_council/ministries/2016/05/23/content_2...

Serie Artificial Intelligence in China

Paperback Edition

Artificial Intelligence in China in its direct sources. Volume II. .... Amazon Paperback Edition ISBN-10: 1521564922. ISBN-13: 978-1521564929

Artificial Intelligence in China in its direct sources. Volume I. S.... Amazon Paperback Edition. ISBN-10: 1521529655 ISBN-13: 978-1521529652. June 2017

Kindle Edition

Artificial Intelligence in China in its direct sources. Volumen II .... Kindle Edition. ASIN: B0733C5JBG. June 2017

Artificial Intelligence in China in its direct sources. Volume I. S.... Kindle Edition. ASIN: B072S37R6W. June 2017

About the Author

Walter Farah Calderón is a freelance writer with an academic background in philosophy. He is the author, among others, of the following works: