World AI Conference in Shanghai: Chinese Firms Push AI Boundaries Despite Sanctions

Chinese tech firms are showcasing their resilience and ingenuity at the World AI Conference in Shanghai, even as they navigate challenges posed by US sanctions. This event has become a launchpad for numerous new AI products and solutions from Chinese companies, demonstrating their commitment to advancing AI technology.

With over 150 AI-related products on display, the conference highlights the ongoing innovation and determination of Chinese tech firms to lead in the global AI race.

Zhang Ping’an, Huawei’s Executive Board member in charge of Cloud Biz Group, stated, “Nobody will deny that we are facing limited computing power in China. If we believe that not having the most advanced AI chips means we will be unable to lead in AI, then we need to abandon this viewpoint.”

SenseNova 5.5 and GPT-4

Regarding the former, SenseTime’s SenseNova 5.5, a large language model (LLM), is being compared to GPT-4 of OpenAI in such areas as problem-solving involving calculations. Despite the company’s primary previous AI application of facial recognition, the firm has now turned to generative AI, given the emergence in late 2022 of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Nevertheless, numerous managers interviewed at the conference were rather optimistic about the opportunities for further development of Chinese AI companies despite the adversity in the form of sanctions from the United States. Zhang Ping’an, reiterated to the audience to let go of the erroneous belief that China will not be able to realize its smart ambition due to a scarcity of sophisticated artificial intelligence chips. He demanded more progress regarding such products as cloud computing to solve the problem of the limited availability of advanced chips.

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The Chairman of Iflytek, an AI company newly added to the blacklist that restricts it from sourcing for superior chips from its American counterparts, Liu Qingfeng, also shared Zhang’s views. When interviewed by state-owned China News Service, Liu said that many of the LLMs that China’s firms have built, such as Iflytek, are as good as OpenAI’s GPT-4.

Liu stated, “We must have our own LLMs that are independently developed and controlled by China, capable of benchmarking against the highest global standards and continuously narrowing the gap“.

Nevertheless, some of the industry’s executives, such as Robin Li, the CEO of the Chinese search engine Baidu, have called on the AI industry to cease the focus on the LLMs that need vast quantities of computing resources and AI chips and turn to the usage of AI. Li further explained that without applications, having but base models, be they open source or closed source, is useless.

It can be seen that the World AI Conference has provided a platform for Chinese tech companies to demonstrate their strengths and innovations in the AI sector, despite facing challenges from US sanctions. With more than 150 AI-related products and solutions being exhibited at the conference, it is clear that Chinese companies are continuing to push the boundaries of what is possible in the field of AI. As the global competition in AI heats up, the resilience and determination of Chinese tech companies will be a key factor to watch.

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