The 4th World Intelligence Congress opens in Tianjin, featuring a full range of online events

Under the theme of “Intelligent New Era: Innovation, Energization and Ecology”, the 4th. World Intelligence Conference (WIC 2020) opened at Tianjin Media Theatre on June 23, 2020.

As a global top-level event in the field of AI science and technology, the conference has become a platform for exchanges, cooperation and sharing experiences to promote the healthy development of new-generation AI for the good of mankind.

Wan Gang, vice chairperson of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), attended the online opening ceremony and gave a keynote speech at the theme summit.

Li Hongzhong, secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee addressed the congress.

Li Xiaohong, president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), congratulated the conference by sending a video clip.

Huai Jinpeng, executive vice president of CAST, Zhang Guoqing, deputy secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee and mayor of Tianjin, Duan Chunhua, director of the Standing Committee of the Tianjin Municipal People's Congress, Yang Xiaowei, deputy director of the National Internet Information Office, Zhong Zhihua, vice president of the CAE, and Yin Hejun, deputy secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee, Park Won Soon, the mayor of Seoul, South Korea, delivered a speech via video connection.

Gong Ke, president of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), presided over the congress.

Wan Gang pointed out in his keynote speech that the WIC has become a brand-new business card for AI development in Tianjin city and China. In the period of regular prevention and control of COVID-19, the successful holding of WIC 2020 online is a vivid practice of President Xi Jinping’s earnest requirement for the conference and the Tianjin city.

The conference is a high-end platform for academic exchanges jointly launched by Tianjin and CAST. It is also a valuable practice for Chinese sci-tech workers and enterprises specialized in artificial intelligence to offer the globe invitation to join hands and overcome difficulties together, added Wan.

With the advent of the post-epidemic era, Wan expected the scientific sectors to expand access to big data resources, make use of blockchain technology and provide online services to win the battle against COVID-19 epidemic.

Wan highlighted the importance of conducting basic research and creating favorable conditions in the industry. He stressed a more intelligent and digitalized industry chain to be built to promote the close integration of artificial intelligence technology with the real economy.

Wan urged to develop a platform for employment, and make “Innovation China” programme help conduct basic research, faciliate resource sharing and promote international cooperation.

Li Hongzhong said in his speech that intelligence technology has become Tianjin’s name card and the main driving force to promote the city’s high-quality development. Looking into the future, we should embrace the new era of intelligence and take strides building Tianjin into a pioneer city in the 4th industrial revolution.

Li required that great efforts must be made to promote the innovation of concept, system and sci-tech in the same direction to make Tianjin an origin city providing intelligent solutions, so as to build Tianjin into a city of innovation in science and technology.

Taking intelligence artifical as the core, the new generation of information technology as the lead, intelligent manufacturing as the main direction and the infrastructure construction as the key support, Tianjin would be built into a smart port empowered by AI technologies, added Li.

Li also urged emphasis being put to create favourable business conditions and strengthen exchanges and cooperation both at home and abroad.

Li Xiaohong said that Tianjin has held WIC three times already and embarks on a journey of innovative intelligence technologies driven development with a promising future. CAE would make full use of its advantages of multi-disciplinary, inter-departmental, and cross-industrial to support the conference and boost the development of Tianjin as it has always been doing.

Park Won Soon said that this conference is of great significance at a critical moment in the global fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. He looked forward that Seoul and Tianjin would strengthen exchanges and share experiences in infrastructure construction and the congress lay a solid foundation for global cooperation in this regard.

At the theme summit, representatives from the global intelligence technology industry and academia made presentations through live or video connections.

Gao Wen, academician of the CAE, made an in-depth explanation of open resource and AI development; Ma Huateng, Chairperson of the Board and CEO of Tencent holdings sent congratulatory audio to the congress; Mark Ren, Chief Operating Officer at Tencent holdings made a live speech of new era of intelligence; Professor Max Tigermark at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and author of Life 3.0: being human in the age of artificial intelligence made a video speech pivoting artificial intelligence enlightening the future for Tianjin, China and the world; Yang Yuanqing, Chairperson of Lenovo Group, expressed his unique insights on the upgrading of China's manufacturing industry and the speeding up of a smart economy; Yang Xu, Intel's global vice president and president of Intel China, proposed the future blueprint of intelligent technology focusing on the theme of smart X effect helping upgrade the digital economy; Li Jun, president of Dawning Information Industry Co., Ltd. talked about the concept of building an advanced computing industry ecology in combination with the innovative development in Tianjin; Edmund Phelp, 2006 Nobel Laureate in economics made a video speech combining the application of intelligent technology with the economic and social development; Wang Jian, academician of the CAE and director of Alibaba Technology Committee, conducted an in-depth analysis about ubiquitous intelligent technology and urban brain.

Experts at the congress discussed the topic of intelligent technology in the context of regular COVID-19 control. Liu Qingfeng, Chairperson of Iflytek Co. Ltd., Raj Reddy, foreign academician of the CAE and Turing Award winner, and Soren Carlsen, vice president of Novozymes delivered brilliant presentations under the themes of "New Trends in the Development of the Artificial Intelligence Industry", "Artificial Intelligence 2.0 in the Post-epidemic Era" and "Intelligent Empowering Biotechnology Industry" respectively.

In response to the topic of intelligent technology and network security, Zhou Hongyi, Chairperson and CEO of 360 Group, initiated a discussion on "new infrastructure needs to be built simultaneously with security infrastructure".

The online serial events fully sparked participants’ wisdom and delivered a bunch of cutting-edge ideas and golden sentences, presenting a feast for the on-site and on-cloud participants worldwide.

Before the opening ceremony and theme summit, Wan Gang, Li Hongzhong, Huai Jinpeng and Zhang Guoqing also participated in the cloud exhibition.

This year's event selected Tianjin National Convention and Exhibition Center which was under construction as the venue for online intelligence technologies exhibition, and demonstrated the real scene of the center when it’ll be completed, attracting more than 100 enterprises and institutions applying for virtual booths and attending the exhibition.

The guests at the congress experienced the technology innovations of internet tycoons of Tencent, Huawei, Lenovo and 360 through MR mixed reality technology, and renewed their understanding of the real-world applications and future development of smart cities, smart transportation, smart life and smart manufacturing among other fields.

Featuring a full range of online events including innovative forums, exhibitions, competitions and contract signing, the congress attracted a total number of 58.6 million online viewers participating in the opening ceremony and theme summit at the same time through the access of 40 live broadcast platforms, and the event's total number of views reached 392 million.