WAIC to attract over 500 industry leaders

More than 500 artificial intelligence experts and executives, including Nobel laureates and Turning Award winners, will attend the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), to be held in Shanghai next month.

The WAIC 2020 conference is scheduled between July 9 and 11, under the theme of "Intelligent Connectivity, Indivisible Community," organizers said on Tuesday during a 30-day countdown event.

As an AI conference with global influence, half of the speakers at the event's opening ceremony and forums will be international speakers. Many of these guests will attend online summits due to the pandemic.

More than 150 firms, including Microsoft, Amazon, Alibaba, Tencent and Huawei will take part in online exhibition events.

The WAIC conference is a good opportunity for Shanghai to showcase how new technologies can fight epidemics and develop the digital economy, said Wu Jincheng, director of the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization.

An official video of WAIC 2020 and a batch of WAIC partners were also announced on Tuesday. The forums will focus on topics like AI tech trends, AI in the digital economy and AI for a better life.

A roadshow event connecting AI startups and investors was also held recently as a prelude to the conference. AI tech firms in medicine, robotics, smart driving and chips introduced their businesses and innovations during the roadshow, which was expected to help them raise about 1 billion yuan (US$142.8 million).

The AIWIN competition, one part of WAIC, has already started in April. It is supported by industry giants such as China Mobile, ICBC and Intel. Winners can qualify for ecosystem support and the chance to take part in WAIC, according to organizers.

Shanghai is a nationwide AI development center. In 2019, it had 1,100 AI firms with an annual output of around 140 billion yuan, according to the commission.