WAIC 2018 Officially Opened

English Editor: Turing

At 9:00 am on September 17, the World Artificial Intelligence Conference(WAIC) of 2018 officially opened at the West Bund of Shanghai. National leaders, Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong, Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang, Turing Award winner Raj Reddy, Ma Yun, Ma Huateng, Li Yanhong, Xu Zhijun, Tang Xiaoou, Chen Xiangyang, Lei Jun, Liu Qingfeng and other honored guests will deliver a speech at the opening ceremony.

China attaches great importance to the development of artificial intelligence and proposes to develop smart industries, expand smart life and build a smart society. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that it is necessary to promote the deep integration of the Internet, big data, artificial intelligence and the real economy, foster new growth points and form new kinetic energy. Artificial intelligence is accelerating to become a new engine and new kinetic energy to promote the high-quality development of China’s economy and meet the people’s longing for a better life.

WAIC 2018, with the theme of “AI Empowers a New Era”, includes four parts: “Conference, Application, Competition and Exhibition” and emphasizes the theme of “Internationalization, High-Level, Specialization and Marketization”.

The conference will explore and discuss AI and the changes it brought about in three aspects – technology trends, industrial empowerment as well as economic and social governance, aiming to maximize the potential of AI, respond to its possible impacts, and formulate corresponding economic, industrial, social and public policies.

The conference will last for three days. In addition to the opening ceremony and the major forum on September 17, there will be 29 theme forums, 4 special events and several conclaves. The Turing Award winners, 50 Chinese and foreign academicians, 100 leading youth experts, and 100 representative technology companies will attend the conference.

As a part of WAIC 2018, the 2018 World Artificial Intelligence Innovation Competition (AIWIN, AI WORLDINNOVATIONS), has recruited more than 500 teams worldwide in three months with the theme of “Enlightening Intelligence and Guiding the Future” from China, the United States, Europe, Australia and other countries and regions, and will decide the winners at the conference.

In addition, Tank Space – one of the most distinctive buildings of the conference will showcase seven AI planets that contain seven AI+ application services respectively, namely AI+Finance, AI+Retail, AI+Medical, AI+ Manufacturing, AI+Service, AI+ Education and AI+ Transportation.