China is planning to build a $2.1bn research centre for artificial intelligence (AI) in Beijing.
The campus in the western suburb of Mentougou will accommodate up to 400 businesses over 55ha and will have an estimated annual output of $7.7bn once complete.
It will focus on super high-speed processing of big data, cloud computing, biometric identification and machine learning, reports state news agency Xinhua. Its technological infrastructure will include a 5G mobile network and a super computer.
The developer, Zhongguancun Development Group, owned by the Beijing municipal government, will seek partnerships with Chinese and overseas universities, research institutes and companies.
China aims to grow its AI industry to over 150 billion yuan by 2020 and 400 billion yuan by 2025, according to the State Council.
The country’s burgeoning AI industry has also attracted foreign firms. Last month, Alphabet Inc’s Google announced it would launch a Beijing-based AI research team, targeting local research talent, even though the US firm’s search engine remains blocked behind China’s firewall.
Already, China is working on a number of AI projects. The Futurism web site lists human-looking robots, an AI police station, and an AI unit that passed a medical licensing exam.
Image: China aims to become a world leader in AI-enabled devices by 2030 (Friends of Europe)
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