Tech giant strives to lead in GBA's AI development

The Internet Economy Summit (IES), an annual program, brings together top global and local thought leaders to exchange experience and ideas on how to leverage the opportunities that emerge amid internet economic growth. [Photo provided to China daily]

As the Bay Area evolves into a cluster of vibrant metropolises, a head from Microsoft Corp embraces the opportunity to develop artificial intelligence within the region

For years, stories of how China leapfrogged the rest of the world - from credit cards to digital payments, from landline phone networks to 4G - have been trotted out as a clear testament to the sheer power of technology.

Today, as the country bankrolls sterling efforts in artificial intelligence that could essentially bolster up its vision as the stalwart innovator and tech powerhouse, Microsoft Corp has high hopes to play a bigger role.

Known for "large amount of data available, great technical talents, as well as a cloud and mobile-ready society that is keen for innovation", the world's second-largest economy as a market offers a huge opportunity for AI development, said Jason Tsao, AI and area transformation lead of the Microsoft Greater China Region.

Such tremendous opportunities come into focus as the nation presses ahead with a grand plan to create a globally competitive cluster of metropolises in the Pearl River Delta.

"With the diverse geographic and language capabilities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, AI will play a key role for companies seeking to collaborate and operate more effectively," Tsao said.

Hailed as the world's factory, as well as the nation's finance and trade center, the Bay Area boasts a young population with an intense atmosphere of entrepreneurship and an influx of highly educated workers. It stands as the poster child of the country's technological development miracle, being the home to a wealth of world-class high-tech giants and the birthplace of 17 percent of China's "unicorns" - privately owned companies with a value of at least $1 billion.

Microsoft embarked on its journey in fundamental AI research almost 30 years ago when Microsoft Research was formed based on a vision from then-CEO Bill Gates to enable computers to naturally interact with humans without a keyboard and mouse.

"We were among the first to achieve human parity in computer vision, speech, translation, and reading comprehension," Tsao said. "Interestingly, all these were done from our research team in Beijing."

This, Tsao pointed out, gives the US-based technology behemoth a leg up to become an active player in and keen supporter for a technological "big bang" coming from the Bay Area.

An action plan is mapped out. Tsao said the company is looking to focus on AI and the internet of things (IoT) to push for robust regional IT development in the region with its Azure Cloud computing platform. It also aims to empower digital transformation in traditional industries across the region, such as automotive, household appliance manufacturing, retail and financial services, while driving the advancement of emerging technologies.

Another item highlighted in its to-do list is nurturing next-generation talents to facilitate local technology developments. The multinational plans to further invest in training talents in Hong Kong and the Bay Area, Tsao said.

An integrated network will also be established to contribute to the competitiveness of the regional development to go global, helping businesses in the Bay Area meet challenges and participate in international innovation and technology cooperation, he added.

Tsao is among over 70 speakers invited to this year's Internet Economy Summit. The two-day event, in its fourth session, will open on Monday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre with the theme of "Digital Economy Redefines our Future".

Billed as one of the leading annual events in the global innovation calendar, the summit, jointly organized by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and Cyberport, will attract top-notch international and local business heavyweights such as Alibaba, Amazon, Twitter, Microsoft, Bank of China and ZA International to share their insights on how today's businesses can leverage data-driven innovations to capitalize on the unprecedented opportunities in the connected world.

"AI at the end of the day is only a tool and it is here to help us achieve more," Tsao said. "Finally, artificial intelligence combined with human intelligence will lead us to super intelligence."