Beijing to release national artificial intelligence development plan

Beijing is drafting a national development plan on artificial intelligence and setting up a special fund as part of an effort to push the technology’s application in the economy and national security, said China’s top technology official.

Wan Gang, the minister of science and technology, said that the plan, which aims to facilitate the adoption of the technology in a wide range of areas, including “economy, social welfare, environmental protection and national security”, is expected to be released soon after the National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the annual meeting of China’s parliament, which will end on Wednesday.

“In the meantime, the central government will set up a special fund for the fundamental research and core technologies [of artificial intelligence],” Wan said at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing Two Sessions on Saturday, without disclosing the size of the fund.

Wan’s comments on AI comes amid calls by some of China’s most influential business and technology leaders to make the technology a priority on the government’s agenda.

From the founder of the largest Chinese internet search engine Baidu, the owner of smartphone maker Xiaomi, and the founder of Geely Automobile, which bought Volvo, business tycoons who meet in Beijing this week for the Two Sessions are calling for government to lead the charge in getting Chinese enterprises to collaborate on AI research, and facilitate the industrialising of the technology as they see there is a big chance for China to surpass the United States as a global superpower on AI.