Half of WAIC speakers and invited guests come from overseas

Half of the speakers for the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, or WAIC, come from overseas regions, giving an international boost to the event, organizers said today.

Top executives, including Turing Award winners, from tech companies globally will speak at the WAIC to discuss the impact of artificial intelligence and its potential on the economy and society. The event will display the latest AI applications in transport, finance, health care, retail, smart manufacturing and services.

The Turing Award is an annual prize given by the Association for Computing Machinery to an individual selected for contributions of lasting and major technical importance to the computing field. 

More than half of the speakers and invited guests attending the WAIC will come from overseas, said the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information Technology.

The WAIC is set to be held in Shanghai from September 17-19.

The city has set AI as a strategic sector to boost the economy and upgrade its business structure. The core AI sectors in Shanghai are expected to achieve an annual output of above 100 billion yuan (US$15 billion) in two to three years, up from 70 billion yuan in 2017.