Companies gear up for inaugural World Artificial Intelligence Conference

Enterprises related to the artificial intelligence sector are gearing up for the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai where the industry is projected to generate over 100 billion yuan ($15.1 billion) in two to three years.

The conference, which is scheduled to take place from September 17 to 19, will showcase products and services including cleaning robots, AI vendors and immersive AI experiences.

During a media briefing last week, executives from 11 companies proposed ideas for future development, introduced their products and services as well as applauded the Shanghai municipal government's efforts in developing the AI industry.

"Shanghai has attached great importance to the development of AI," said Wang Xinlei, chief strategy officer of DeepBlue Technology, a Shanghai-based company dealing with AI research and application. "We have faith in successfully demonstrating our achievements to the world via this conference."

"The impact of AI on mankind shall be no less profound than the industrial revolution," said Luo Yi, vice executive of Yitu, an AI company that handles intelligent security. "We will seek to bring more applications to real-life situations."

Entrepreneurs also discussed about possible future policies that could consolidate the city's advantages in AI development. For instance, Wang expects Shanghai to attract more talents to support a stable R&D environment for the industry.

Lin Zhu'en, an official from the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information Technology, said the government would roll out a set of new guidelines to invite AI talents following the September conference.

"The conference shall display cutting-edge technologies and aim to protect intellectual property," said Zhang Wen, chief executive of SenseTime, a world-leading AI company whose technology will be used for security purposes during the conference.

Yu Dingzhang in Shanghai contributed to this story.