US, Chinese investors, professionals optimistic about AI-driven future mobility

SAN FRANCISCO - US and Chinese investors, engineers and industry professionals in Silicon Valley are optimistic about future self-driving technology powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

At the US-China AI Tech Summit held Friday in Silicon Valley, California, the tech community in the US birthplace of hi-tech innovation agreed that the AI technology will give a big push to the future mobility characterized with self-driving technology and electrical vehicles, and change the way of public transportation.

AI as a tool "helped create a world that is safer and cleaner than the one in which we are driving today," said Maarten Sierhuis, chief technology director of the Nissan Research Center based in Silicon Valley.

"If you want to be bold to say AI is going to change the world of driving, and I think that will probably happen in the long term," he said.

AI technology will also boost the development of electrical vehicles, which have zero emissions.

"Electronic vehicles are stimulated by the development of self-driving technology," said Nan Zhou, director of Baidu Capital, who leads Baidu Investment Partners, with focus on its overseas investment on AI core tech and AI-related application.

By 2025, China will become the world's largest electronic vehicle market, a huge one for self-driving technology, which provides a lot of opportunities for the United States in terms of data sharing, she added.

The panelists agreed that the Chinese government showed a high level of efficiency in giving policy support to the development of AI technology and infrastructure such as road construction.

Friday's summit seeks to start an open dialogue between tech leaders of China and the United States on major challenges ahead with the acceleration of AI adoption across various industries.

It catalyzes a subsequent series of industry forums, working groups and other collaborations, focusing on Future Mobility, AI in Healthcare, AI in FinTech, AI in the Law, AI for Enterprise and Robotics and Drones.