WAIC spotlights as Shanghai readies for mega-tech show
The World Artificial Intelligence Conference will open in Shanghai on Thursday.
The World Artificial Intelligence Conference, or WAIC, will open in Shanghai on Thursday, with a slew of spotlights in the record-high exhibition spaces, expected procurement deals of up to 10 billion yuan (US$1.38 billion), and global debuts of AI large models.
With the theme of "Intelligent Connectivity, Generating Future," WAIC 2023 returns to offline and face-to-face connections, after turning to online sessions due to the pandemic in previous years.
Guests test China Mobile's Jiutian AI platform, which can sense people's feeling through face pictures.
Here are the expected spotlights of the present and previous AI event.
Exhibition:
WAIC organizers have listed nine "highlights" of exhibits, covering security services, AI calculation infrastructure, man-less driving vehicle and AI tools used for drug research (see chart).
The WAIC officially released nine highlights of the show.
The highlights are from tech giants like Ant Group, Baidu, Huawei and Tencent. Overseas behemoths like Google and Tesla are also present.
Ant Group showed its "highlights" during a media tour of the WAIC venue on Wednesday.
Industrial Connection:
More than 20 closed-door industrial negotiation meetings will be held during the WAIC, covering smart agriculture, smart city, metaverse, intelligent retail as well as culture and tourism applications.
Around 100-odd procurement groups, consisting of state-owned giants, Fortune 500 firms from the West and overseas groups, will conduct purchase deals with expected value exceeding 10 billion yuan (US$1.39 billion). The deals will cover 5G/6G, Internet of Things, robots, industrial drones, environment analysis and intelligent supply chain.
Tesla is showcasing its latest cars and an AI robot at the WAIC.
Overseas groups taking part in the conference are from China's Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Britain and South Korea. HongShan, formerly known as Sequoia Capital China, a venture capital firm based in China, is also attending the show.
AI large models:
Fueled by a ChatGPT wave, AIGC (AI-generated content) and related large models are hot topics and "stars" at the WAIC.
WPS AI will be launched at WAIC 2023. It is expected to benefit millions of users.
More than 20 large model forums will be held and over 30 AI large models will be shown or debut globally, covering general AI and classified applications.
Firms and organizations, including Baidu, Huawei, Kingsoft Office and SenseTime, will show off their latest AI results and innovations, along with Fudan University's highly-anticipated MOSS.
Fudan's MOSS will make its debut at WAIC.
Awards:
The WAIC's SAIL Award (Superior AI Leader Award) "explores (and honors) global projects with high recognition and reputation in the field of AI and with the significance of improving human welfare".
Other events like AIWAIN Award and a Hackathon will also be held at WAIC 2023.
The WAIC will be held at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center from July 6 to 8, with sub-conferences hosted in Zhangjiang in the Pudong New Area and Xuhui District.
People talk about AI system development at the booth of Enflame, a Shanghai-based tech firm.
