Apps improving daily life

A total of 28 city-level AI or artificial intelligence applications, covering public transport management, trash sorting and foreign exchange transactions, were revealed in the city on Tuesday.

Sixty city-level AI applications will debut in Shanghai by 2020, helping build the city into an “AI highland” in innovation, application, policy and talent, according to Wu Jincheng, director of Shanghai's Commission of Economy and Information Development, the local industry regulator.

Through the 28 applications, AI has been playing important roles in various industries and our daily life, as well as boosting the city's international development, Wu said.

Using AI methods, Shanghai’s new Metro lines are adopting driverless technologies while Shanghai museums use new technologies to identify the authenticity of cultural relics, speakers told a conference revealing the applications. 

Medical, urban management and transport are key sectors for the 28 city-level AI applications, which have been chosen from 170 candidates. 

Firms from China and the United States, Japan, the Netherlands and France are involved in the project, covering firms such as Microsoft, IBM, BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent), Huawei and startups like SenseTime, Yitu, iFlytek, Deepblue and Liulishuo. Executives from US, Canadian, Israelie and other countries’ consulates in Shanghai attended the conference.

Also on Tuesday, an AI Development Industry Alliance was founded, with an initial 55 members.