‘Partnership on AI’, a collaboration between the world’s biggest tech stalwarts to help people understand and benefit from the use of AI, is now being joined by Chinese search giant, Baidu. This will also make Baidu, the first Chinese firm to join this massive grouping, which counts the likes of Google, Facebook, IBM among others as its founding members.
The initiative’s aim, in its own words, is “to study and formulate best practices on AI technologies, to advance the public’s understanding of AI, and to serve as an open platform for discussion and engagement about AI and its influences on people and society.” You can consider this organisation like a self-governing body of the world’s largest data holders, who will frequently meet to discuss advancements in the field of Artificial Intelligence.
The initial financial grant for this newly formed organisation came from organization’s founding members, each of whom will contribute financial and research resources to the partnership and will share leadership with independent third-parties, including academics, user group advocates, and industry domain experts.
Last year , and the search firm has invested heavily in autonomous driving and deep learning in recent years.
Baidu’s admission represents the beginning of PAI’s entrance into China. We will continue to add new members in China and around the world as we grow
said PAI in a statement on Tuesday.
Apollo, which is China’s largest open source autonomous driving platform, is one of Baidu’s three key new AI products along with DuerOS, a voice enabled digital assistant, and Baidu ABC, a smart cloud for the enterprise market. With these three products, Baidu is positioning itself as the change-maker in bringing AI into homes, automobiles and enterprises in China. Its positioning has worked, with China’s industry ministry naming Baidu as one of four national AI champions.
Ya-Qin Zhang, President of Baidu Inc., said:
The impact of a transformative technology like AI goes beyond borders, so we are looking forward to both sharing our own insights and learning from our international peers.
