Top global AI event opens in Shanghai next month

Credit: Ti Gong

Caption: A metaverse application to be showcased during the WAIC next month.

The World Artificial Intelligence Conference or WAIC, China's top AI conference held annually for the past four years, will open in Shanghai next month -- the first national-level exhibition and event in the city after the pandemic.

It will be held between September 1 and 3 in the Pudong New Area and Xuhui District, with a total of 300 speakers and 200 exhibitors.

About 30 percent of exhibitors are newcomers to the WAIC, showing strong confidence in the market and innovation in Shanghai after the pandemic.

"The WAIC is still the best platform for displaying technology innovation and global communication," said Zhang Ying, vice director of the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization.

The event is co-organized by several national agencies and ministries, such as the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as well as the Shanghai government.

The theme is "Intelligent Connectivity, Inspirational Cities." Highlights include brain-computer interface, the metaverse, AI chips and related ethics and legal issues, organizers said.

Shanghai has designated AI, integrated circuits and biomedicine as three strategic industries in its long-term development blueprint.

In 2021, Shanghai's AI industry revenue hit 280 billion yuan (US$43 billion), 18.3 percent growth year on year, much higher than the city's GDP growth.

The WAIC is normally held in July, but was delayed to September due to the pandemic.

The venues are the Shanghai Expo Center and a new building in Zhangjiang in the Pudong New Area. Some events will be held virtually due to pandemic control requirements.

Besides WAIC, several global events and exhibitions will be held in Shanghai, covering design and industrial fairs in September as well as the China International Import Expo in November.