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Artificial intelligence
TechTech Trends

Beijing calls for more Internet 3.0 research in areas including generative artificial intelligence and virtual reality

  • The Beijing municipal government is soliciting subsidised projects researching artificial intelligence, 3D content, and AR and VR applications
  • The city is seeking to bolster its efforts in areas it has classified as Internet 3.0 amid national calls for technological self-reliance

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A boy points to an AI robot poster during the 2022 World Robot Conference at Beijing Etrong International Exhibition on August 18, 2022. Photo: Getty Images
Ben Jiangin Beijing
The Beijing government has started soliciting subsidised research projects that include generative artificial intelligence (AI) and digital content creation, as the city advances the country’s push for technological self-reliance amid an escalating US-China rivalry.
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Beijing has called upon entities registered in the city with scientific research capacity to submit proposals under three fields it has classified as Internet 3.0 technologies: 3D digital content creation, generative AI and research and development of industrial application systems and equipment, which includes augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), according to a notice published on the website of the municipal technology promotion agency on Friday.

Beijing has earmarked 60 million yuan (US$8.6 million) to support up to 12 projects over two years, the notice said.

The move is also part of the Chinese capital’s three-year plan to bolster research and development of the so-called Internet 3.0 industry through 2025.

The plan, announced in March, aims to make Beijing a “highland for Internet 3.0 technology” with international cachet. It also pushes for breakthroughs in six core technologies to “accelerate technological localisation”, replacing foreign tech with home-grown alternatives.

AI, blockchain, high-end computing chips, telecoms, extended reality terminals, and digital content creation are named as the technologies central to Internet 3.0.
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Beijing expects to apply these technologies to a range of scenarios that include powering smart cities and industrial manufacturing.

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