China's Race for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology

[TaiShang]

Dec 20, 2017 07:30 PM

Tencent Finds Vulnerabilities in Google’s AI System
By Mo Yelin

Tencent Holdings Ltd. said it discovered security flaws in Google LLC's TensorFlow software while conducting code reviews on the open-source platform. Above, Google CEO Sundar Pichai talks about TensorFlow's processor unit architecture on May 17 in Mountain View, California. Photo: Visual China

Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. claims it has found a “significant security loophole” in Google LLC’s machine-learning platform, TensorFlow, which could expose programmers to “huge risks” when editing code using the system.

This is possible because hackers could create malicious software to control or destroy the users’ original artificial intelligence (AI) program, Tencent said in a statement to Caixin on Wednesday.

@Martian2 , @AndrewJin , @cirr , @GS Zhou

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2017-1...abilities-in-googles-ai-system-101187514.html

 

[TaiShang]

Baidu to roll out AI lab, smart transportation in Xiongan
December 21, 2017

Chinese internet search giant Baidu Inc inked a strategic partnership with the government of Xiongan New Area on Wednesday, pledging to establish the country's artificial intelligence laboratory and build a city featuring smart transportation in line with its ambition to develop self-driving vehicles.

The tech giant said it will carry out cooperation with the local authority to develop the new economic zone into a smart city by virtue of its cloud computing, conversational AI system DuerOS, and to improve the public transportation efficiency with its Apollo project.

The smart city will incorporate a variety of fields such as transportation, education, security, healthcare, environment protection and payment.

Baidu also tested its self-driving vehicles in Xiongan New Area. Two days ago, Beijing released a guideline for road tests of self-driving cars, which shows the authorities' support for technological innovation through systematic innovation.

The company also plans to cooperate with the authorities from Baoding, Wuhu, Chongqing and Shanghai to build smart cities with its AI-powered technologies.

Last month, Baidu’s Chairman and CEO Robin Li said the company’s annual conference that Baidu’s autonomous driving open platform Apollo will work with Xiong'an New Area in intelligent transportation to develop the area into a smart city.

Tencent Holdings Ltd also signed strategic cooperation agreement with the government of Xiongan in November, to set up a financial technology lab and digitize public medical services.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd announced in September that it will set up three subsidiaries in Xiongan with a total registered capital of 160 million yuan ($24 million). It will cooperate with the local government mainly in artificial intelligence, fintech and intelligent logistics.

http://www.china.org.cn/business/2017-12/21/content_50116933.htm

 

[qwerrty]

i bet it's intentional for the NSA to snoop


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Tencent discovers major loopholes in Google's AI platform TensorFlow

Dec 18, 2017Rita Liao
TencentSecurityNews

Google has been recognized as a leader driving the global AI revolution, but the tools it offers to developers might not be as safe as many thought. A security team of China’s social and gaming giant Tencent recently claimed (in Chinese) that it had found a “significant security loophole” in Google’s machine-learning platform TensorFlow and that programmers are prone to malicious attack when editing codes using the platform.

“Simply put, if the design professionals happen to be using the vulnerable component when coding a robot, it’s likely that the hacker can control the robot through that loophole. This is very scary. So far we have only made a small step in security for AI. We look forward to making AI better and safer with the help of more technical talents,” says Yang Yong, head of Blade, a team under Tencent’s security division.

If an unsafe code is edited into an AI use case such as face recognition, the hacker can gain full control over the system, steal the design model from the designer, invade user’s privacy and cause even more serious damage, Yang adds.

In 2015, Google unveiled the free, cloud-based machine-learning platform TensorFlow to simplify programming steps for AI. Blade discovered security vulnerabilities while conducting code reviews on TensorFlow and has reported the matter to Google, who officially opened its AI center in Beijing less than a week ago.

This isn’t the first time Chinese hackers have safety flaws in overseas players products. In 2014, security company Qihoo 360 claimed (in Chinese) it gained control of some Tesla Model S functions including the lock, horn, flashing lights and sunroof. This July, Tencent’s renowned Keen Security Lab managed to remotely hack a Tesla for the second year in a row. The lab reported all related exploits to Tesla.

https://technode.com/2017/12/18/tencent-tensorflow/

 

[qwerrty]

good thing is that none of chinese tech titans using their ai platform. baidu have their own paddlepaddle, alibaba with their DT PAI and tencent using thier own DI-X platform. all the other companies with no ai tech like: insurance, rail, airport, police, bank, etc.. are either using alibaba's or baidu

 

[cirr]

Baidu, Huawei in strategic pact to foster AI development

2017-12-22 09:28 Global Times Editor: Li Yan

Baidu Inc on Thursday reached a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with Huawei Technologies Co to build a mobile and artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, said a statement Baidu sent to the Global Times.

The companies will create a new mobile and AI ecosystem by leveraging Huawei's HiAI platform and Baidu Brain, a compendium of the company's AI assets and services, and combine hardware and software to provide global consumers with new smart service experiences, according to the statement.

The partnership is not surprising because the two companies have very strong "technology genes" and grow through independent research and development technology, Baidu CEO Robin Li Yanhong said.

Li said that the Internet era is giving way to the AI era, and as Baidu has long explored in the AI sector and Huawei has a large customer base, the cooperation will allow them to do many things that were impossible in the past, according to the statement.

Huawei will work with Baidu to promote industrial innovation and the maturing of next-generation smartphones, aiming to create "smart life experiences" for global consumers, Yu Chengdong, CEO of the Huawei Consumer Business Group, was quoted as saying in the statement.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on December 14 rolled out an action plan to improve the AI sector in the next three years, eying breakthroughs in basic research and wide applications in multiple areas ranging from smart automobiles to robots and drones.

http://www.ecns.cn/business/2017/12-22/285453.shtml

 

[cirr]

Chinese chip maker demos an AI camera that can track 200 objects simultaneously

2017-12-22 13:02 CGTN Editor: Gu Liping

A Chinese start-up chip company has demonstrated their latest product: A camera chip that can recognize 200 objects or people at the same time.

The company, Horizon Robotics, claimed this is six times more than their competitors.

"The previous industry leader in AI can recognize 30 people. Our chip can do 200 people at the same time," said Huang Chang, co-founder and VP of algorithms at the company, at the press release in Beijing on Wednesday.

Small and fast

Huang explained the company's approach to computer vision is a bit different from other firms.

AI programs, like computer vision, require a lot of computing power. Previous solutions employed supercomputers to do all the calculations.

In the case this smart camera, the video data must be streamed to a central server to get processed, and this can result in a huge data cost.

"But Horizon's Sunrise chip is so small and efficient that it can process all the videos on the camera side," Huang told CGTN.

In the demo area, the company set up some scenarios to demonstrate their products to potential customers. These included a mass facial-recognition system, a road traffic interpretation system and a on-vehicle chip, named "Journey", that can understand what's going on in the front.

"Our chip is also efficient in terms of energy," Huang added. "It operates at only 1.5 watts for typical applications."

Horizon's core members are mainly from Baidu, Facebook and Nokia. They quit their jobs to form Horizon in 2015 and "build a complete AI solution," according to CEO Yu Kai.

http://www.ecns.cn/2017/12-22/285517.shtml

 

[cirr]

Tencent and Alibaba valuations rocket to new …

 

[TaiShang]

good thing is that none of chinese tech titans using their ai platform. baidu have their own paddlepaddle, alibaba with their DT PAI and tencent using thier own DI-X platform. all the other companies with no ai tech like: insurance, rail, airport, police, bank, etc.. are either using alibaba's or baidu

That's a practical outcome of China's fierce independentism and sovereigntism. Since 1949. I read political writings of every leaders of modern China and it is unbelievable to see how pragmatically and politically enlightened they were/are.

Of course, often times, it is not what we want, but what we are capable of doing.

Relying on foreign key technologies and then preaching of sovereignty would look funny and foolish.

 

[TaiShang]

Chery, NQ Mobile to develop connected-car technology

Automotive News China | 2017/12/22

BEIJING -- Chery Automobile Co. and a subsidiary of NQ Mobile Inc. have formed a partnership to develop an operating system for connected cars.

The subsidiary, Linkmotion Holdings, will create a Linux-based operating system that draws on its expertise in cybersecurity and over-the-air diagnostics.

"We are excited to be working together with Chery to develop this technology platform for the future of new lines of connected and autonomous cars," said Linkmotion President Chen Bo.

State-owned Chery is headquartered in Wuhu, Anhui province. The company produces passenger vehicles and commercial trucks, and it operates a joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover and Singaporean investment company Kenon Holdings.

NQ Mobile markets mobile Internet services, games, entertainment and advertising.

http://www.autonewschina.com/en/article.asp?id=17038

 

[cirr]

Chinese banks adopt facial recognition to enhance customer experience

2017-12-22 13:48

People's Daily Online Editor: Li Yan

The Construction Bank of China has recently introduced facial recognition technology at its automatic teller machines (ATM), according to Xinhua.

The bank limits the daily withdrawal to 2,500 yuan ($380) via the technology. Other banks, such as the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) and China Merchants Bank have also introduced similar technology at their ATMs.

Without a bank card, customers can press the facial recognition withdrawal button, scan their face, enter their phone number or ID number, and enter their transaction amount and password, said a staff of ABC.

The technology eliminates the risk of having bank cards illegally copied and lowers the possibility of cards getting eaten by ATMs, said industry insiders.

The technology is safe, because it also requires ID numbers or phone numbers and passwords. Banks have adopted infrared cameras to lower the risk of illegal activities.

Videos and photos of customers withdrawing money will be encrypted by the banks, in a bid to protect their personal information. Chinese scientists are working on quantum encryption technology to better protect personal information.

Liu Feng, an AI expert, said the risks of personal information leaks are not high, because banks already have mature safety precaution mechanisms, and the photos and videos would not cause very serious consequences even if they were leaked.

ABC reportedly plans to install facial recognition technology at 24,064 ATMs across the country. In 2016, China Merchants Bank expanded facial recognition technology to about 1,000 ATMs in 106 cities.

http://www.ecns.cn/business/2017/12-22/285520.shtml

 

[JSCh]

China launches world's first AI research center for neurology
By Fan Yixin
2017-12-23 15:09 GMT+8

China's Beijing Tiantan Hospital on Friday set up an AI research center in collaboration with Singapore’s artificial intelligence start-up Hanalytics.

The center, the first in the world to apply machine-learning technology in the field, will focus on neurology.

Hanalytics said in a press release that it would provide an “exclusive cooperation” to the hospital in diagnosis, prevention, prognosis and patient rehabilitation.

"In the future, AI-powered robots will help with diagnosis, prognosis, patient rehabilitation and many other medical practices," a neurology expert and the vice president of Tiantan Hospital, Wang Yongjun said at the launch event on Friday.

"The complex diseases of human brains will be diagnosed by the electronic brains," he added.

The accuracy rate of the AI system’s diagnosis has reached as high as 95 percent, equals to the rate of an experienced doctor, said Wang.

Beijing Tiantan Hospital's vice president Wang Yongjun and Hanalytics CEO Raymond Moh signed the agreement of the research center on Friday. /Xinhua Photo

The hospital and company will work together on many ongoing projects including brain tumors, cranial blood vessels and biopsy, Hanalytics’ spokesperson Ong Yi Lin told Channel NewsAsia in an email.

All data acquisition, identification and diagnosis of the data will be performed within the premise of the hospital, said the spokesperson, adding that all patient data will be confidential.

 

[TaiShang]

Huawei and Baidu Sign Strategic Agreement to Lead the New Era of Mobile AI

2017-12-21

Huawei and Baidu will build an open AI ecosystem, bringing global consumers an improved AI experience

[Beijing, China, December 21, 2017] Huawei and Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) have announced a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement that spans from artificial intelligence (AI) platforms and technology, to internet services and content ecosystems. The two companies aim to cultivate an open mobile and AI ecosystem built on shared success, while spurring the development of new AI applications and providing global consumers with AI that “knows you better.”

CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group, Richard Yu(right), and Baidu Chairman and Group CEO, Robin Li(left) announced a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement

“The future is all about smart devices that will actively serve us, not just respond to what we tell them to do,” said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's Consumer Business Group. “With a strong background in R&D, Huawei will work with Baidu to accelerate innovation in the industry, develop the next generation of smartphones, and provide global consumers with AI that knows you better.”

“It should come as no surprise that Baidu and Huawei are working together, because we have many similarities - technology is embedded in our DNA and we have developed our own technologies in order to grow,” said Robin Li, Baidu Chairman and CEO. “The Internet era is evolving into the era of AI. Baidu has been dedicated to the field of AI for a long time. Huawei has a large user base. Together, Baidu and Huawei can do many things which we were not able to do in the past. The Chinese saying ‘let a hundred flowers bloom’ is a good way to describe our cooperation – today we planted the seeds, and I believe soon they will grow into many flowers.”

Huawei and Baidu plan to build an open ecosystem using Huawei’s HiAI platform and Baidu Brain, a compendium of the company's AI assets and services. The open ecosystem will leverage Huawei’s Neural Network Processing Unit (NPU) and Baidu’s PaddlePaddle deep learning framework to empower AI developers, and provide consumers with a broad range of AI offerings and new smart service experiences.

The two companies will work together on voice and image recognition for smart devices to enable more seamless human-machine interaction. They will also jointly build an augmented reality (AR) ecosystem, combining hardware and software to create a more immersive and accessible AR experience for everyday consumers.

Regarding internet services and content ecosystems, the companies will strengthen cooperation in areas such as search and feed to bring consumers a wealth of quality content with a more intuitive and convenient service experience.

Huawei is a leading smartphone manufacturer in the world. With a strong belief in the importance of customer-centricity, Huawei is actively exploring the future of smart technologies to help improve people's digital experience, which includes innovation in the 5G, AI, AR, virtual reality (VR), and other related domains. In 2017, Huawei released the Mate 10, the world's first smartphone powered by an embedded AI chipset, the Kirin 970. Huawei has been actively building the HiAI ecosystem based on these chips.

Baidu is the leading Chinese language Internet search provider and, since 2016, its strategy has focused on two core pillars: strengthening its mobile foundation and leading in AI. Baidu is using AI to elevate its current core business, and in parallel, building out new AI-enabled initiatives through an open platform and ecosystem approach. For the third quarter of 2017, Baidu’s feed revenue on an annualized basis exceeded $1 billion USD, and daily user time spend on its flagship app Mobile Baidu grew 15 percent sequentially, the fastest among apps in China with daily active users over 100 million, according to QuestMobile.

After a decade of rapid progress, the mobile phone industry has reached a critical point in its development, and the next generation of smartphones is just over the horizon. Interactive technologies including voice, machine vision, and AI will drive the industry forward. Originally developed to be personal tools, mobile phones will become a natural extension of the human body and AI-powered assistants for consumers. At this critical inflection point in the industry, Huawei and Baidu will continue to prioritize consumer needs and leverage each other's strengths to form a partnership that benefits everyone.

AI is driving a new round of industry transformation. In-depth strategic cooperation between Huawei and Baidu will open up more possibilities for the development of AI and other technologies. It will help lay the foundation for a sustainable mobile and AI ecosystem, so that future technology can better understand users, better serve people, and promote better economic and social outcomes around the world.

http://www.huawei.com/en/news/2017/12/Huawei-Baidu-Strategic-Agreement-MobileAI

 

[TaiShang]

Ke Jie to face AI opponent again

By Hu Shichen

2017-12-28 12:22 GMT+8

The AlphaGo from Google, an AI algorithm that is part of DeepMind, defeated the human world champion Ke Jie in a three-part match in May this year.

After the loss, Ke vowed he would never play a computer again. However, something has changed his mind. Chinese news sources report that Ke will once again play an artificial intelligence at an AI tournament to be held in China in April 2018.

Ke Jie is one of the tournament's ambassadors, who took the victory of ENN Cup World Weiqi Open Tournament in Hebei Province in China. And he will play against the AI Tianrang.

World Champion Ke Jie. /VCG Photo‍

Normally, a human representative would place pieces on behalf of AI, but in this case, a robotic arm developed by Fuzhou University will fulfill that role. Tianrang previously ascended to the semi-finals of Japan's AI Go tournament, called AI Ryusei, earlier this month. Tencent's AI was the ultimate winner.

The complements of AI competitors for the Chinese tournaments are Tianrang from Shanghai China, Japan’s DeepZenGo and more. Google DeepMind's AlphaGo has since retired from competition, so it will not be playing in the tournament.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/3563444e34637a6333566d54/share_p.html

 

[cirr]

World's No. 1 Go player to compete against Chinese AI

2017-12-30 10:09

chinaplus.cri.cn Editor: Yao Lan

Ke Jie, the world's top-ranked player of the Chinese chess game Go, announced that he will resume playing against Artificial Intelligence (AI) Go players and will battle with domestically developed AI player Tianrang in April 2018, according to China Youth Daily.

In May 2017, Ke Jie announced that he would never again compete with AI Go players after a 0-3 defeat by Google's AlphaGo. He said that the experience of playing against an AI opponent was too painful.

Ke Jie announced that he will play against AI Go player Tianrang, developed by Shanghai Tianrang Inc., in the 2018 world AI Go competition, after getting his fifth world championship in Langfang, Heibei Province on Tuesday.

Ke, the world's youngest Go champion, said that 2017 had been a period of self-doubt after his defeat by the Google AI. But he said that he has recognized it is as important to try one's best as it is to win the game.

The 2018 world AI Go competition will be held in Fuzhou, capital city of China's Fujian Province, in late April 2018. AI competitors for the tournament include Tianrang from Shanghai, DeepZenGo from Japan, and CGI from Taiwan.

The AI Go player Tianrang will be helped by a mechanical arm developed at China's Fuzhou University, instead of relying on a human to place the chess pieces on the board.

Google DeepMind's AlphaGo has since retired from competition, and will not be playing in the tournament.

http://www.ecns.cn/2017/12-30/286473.shtml

 

[TaiShang]

The 2018 world AI Go competition will be held in Fuzhou, capital city of China's Fujian Province, in late April 2018. AI competitors for the tournament include Tianrang from Shanghai, DeepZenGo from Japan, and CGI from Taiwan.

All East Asian AI competitors (Two from China, one from Japan) .

Let's see how Ke Jie will do this time.