BEIJING, Dec. 27, 2021
/PRNewswire/ --Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU and HKEX: 9888)
successfully opened Baidu Create 2021 today, the first day of a
three-day annual flagship developers' conference on its metaverse
app XiRang. The event was also China's first-ever metaverse technology
symposium.
A recording of the 2021 Baidu Create
main forum is available on Baidu's official YouTube
channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyY30XnH5WU
Dubbed the "Land of Hope", the XiRang platform enables up to
100,000 online attendees to interact simultaneously in the same
space. Speaking at the opening of the conference ̶ held under the
theme "Creators' Spirit" ̶ Baidu Chief Executive Officer, Chairman
and Co-Founder, Robin Li, said that
the era of man-computer symbiosis had arrived, and that creators
would usher in a Golden era of AI over the next 10 years, calling
the technology a powerful tool that will change the world.
Li elaborated on how AI can help with the reconstruction of
industries and benefit humanity by expanding the boundaries of what
is possible for mankind. With more than 10 years' experience of
exploration and experimentation into AI, Baidu is widely seen as
the leader in the development of AI in China.
Intelligent transportation will lift purchase restrictions in
China's first-tier cities within
five years
Social progress is mainly driven by technological innovation. As
the technological wave unfolds, AI has become a tool for a new
generation of creators to change the world.
According to Li, intelligent transportation will see a
significant transformation in the next 10-40 years that will
greatly influence our future. Purchase restrictions limiting the
number of cars sold in China's
first-tier cities, and number plate restrictions reducing by 20%
the number of cars on the roads on weekdays will be lifted within
five years and improved traffic efficiency will solve urban
congestion within 10 years.
Li believes that intelligent transportation can address three
major problems: Firstly, it can reduce road traffic accidents by
90%. Secondly, the problem of urban congestion can be resolved.
Lastly, autonomous driving and intelligent transportation will help
reduce carbon emissions.
From autonomous driving to smart cars and smart roads, Baidu has
deeply integrated AI, 5G and cloud computing into the
transportation sector. With a total of 115,000 rides provided by
the third quarter of 2021, Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing platform
"Apollo Go" has become the largest autonomous mobility service
provider in the world. Baidu's future goal is to expand the "Apollo
Go" service to 65 cities by 2025 and 100 cities by 2030. Baidu AIR
intelligent road system will achieve real-time optimization of
"city-level" signal control at hundreds of thousands of road
intersections, greatly enhancing vehicle safety over millions of
kilometers across the country.
Baidu believes that automotive robots will be the ultimate form
of vehicle transportation in the future. Having L4 intelligent
driving capabilities, Baidu's smart EV venture, Jidu Auto, has been
designed to operate under the concepts of "free movement", "natural
communication", and "self-improvement". Li said that Jidu is
planning to release its first concept car in the first half of
2022, followed by mass production and delivery by 2023.
At the conference, Li also had an in-depth dialogue with
astrochemist and geochemist Ziyuan
Ouyang, first chief scientist of the Chinese lunar
exploration project and researcher at the Chinese Academy of
Sciences, on how AI can be applied in aerospace and future trends
in space exploration. Li said that AI's cognitive and control
capabilities play a very important role in deep space exploration,
helping robots learn about the external environment autonomously so
they can independently make informed decisions and judgments.
Baidu released smart cloud digital avatar platform
XiLing
At the convention, Baidu Chief Technology Officer Haifeng Wang released Baidu AI Cloud digital
avatar platform XiLing, which is a platform level product
integrating digital avatar generation and content production. It
can provide creation and operation one-stop services such as
virtual host, virtual idol, brand spokesperson creation and
operation for radio, television, Internet, brand and other
customers.
AI toolkit: PaddlePaddle gathers over 4 million
developers
A great proponent of open source and openness, Baidu began
research and development (R&D) into AI 11 years ago.
Organizations and creators without IT resources and R&D
capabilities have been able to access Baidu's technology platforms
to help drive AI application.
Apart from providing an "AI toolkit" to creators, Baidu Brain
also provides the technological foundation for digital
transformation in society and many industries. With years of
experience in technological development, Baidu Brain's approach
relies on standardization, automation and modularization for
industrial mass production, which allows it to evolve into an AI
mass production platform. "Wenxin" (文心), Baidu Brain's recently-released
technological breakthrough, is the world's first knowledge-enhanced
100-billion-scale pre-trained language model and the largest
Chinese-language monolithic model.
Baidu's open-source deep-learning platform PaddlePaddle has
garnered 4.06 million developers, served more than 157,000
enterprises and units, covered dozens of industries, and created
almost 500,000 models. PaddlePaddle's combined market share ranks
first among China's deep-learning
platforms.
Computing power is one of the core elements to support AI
development. Baidu created the base for green computing, including
self-developed Kunlun AI chips, an AI heterogeneous computing
platform Baige, and a green data center to support AI technology
research and a wide range of applications. It also advocates for
energy conservation to achieve sustainable development.
Baidu has achieved outstanding performance in cutting-edge
fields, including biological computing and quantum computing, by
riding on successive technological innovations in algorithms,
platforms, and computing power. Baidu introduced the first
algorithm for mRNA in the industry, which could generate optimized
mRNA sequences within 10 minutes.
Based on the innovation outcomes of core technologies, open
platforms, computing power and cutting-edge technologies, Baidu
Brain can support across 1,400 capabilities. Baidu AI Cloud can
distribute the AI technology capabilities to various industries,
contributing to digital transformation and intelligent enhancement
of China's industries, economy and
society. In the industrial arena, Baidu offers Industrial Internet
services to enable companies to reduce production costs, improve
quality, increase efficiency and push for comprehensive
transformation and improvement. In energy, Baidu cooperates with
industry partners to promote business innovation and explore new
paths for energy saving and carbon reduction.
From cutting-edge technologies of the future to large industries
that affect the country's economy and people's livelihoods, from
the front line of urban construction and rural revitalization to
people's everyday lives, developers from all walks of life are
leveraging Baidu Brain to create a better world.
Nurturing 5 million AI talent in 5 years
Innovation requires talent with fresh perspectives and
creativity. Baidu continues to invest in the training of AI
talent.
The Baidu Scholarship was established in 2013 to recognize
Chinese students with great potential and excellence in AI research
around the world. Li awarded Baidu scholarships to 10 outstanding
young students at the conference. He said, looking at these
students, he sees "innovation" in these bright minds. He also sees
their determination and unrelenting efforts towards realizing their
dreams in scientific research and their imminent bright future.
In addition, Baidu has created a new model in jointly training
AI talent with governments, enterprises, and universities. In
August this year, Baidu established the "Baidu Pinecone Academy",
built on PaddlePaddle to integrate basic AI courses, practical
teaching, technical competitions, industry training, and scientific
research funds to create an AI talent training platform.
As of now, Baidu has cultivated more than 1 million AI talents.
Li said that Baidu would continue to promote the cultivation of AI
talent in the future and nurture 5 million AI specialists within
five years.
"Creators are our companions in pursuing our dreams of
technology, they are also one of the great driving forces of human
progress," Li said.
About Baidu
Founded in 2000, Baidu's mission is to make the complicated
world simpler through technology. Baidu is a leading AI company
with strong Internet foundation, trading on the NASDAQ under "BIDU"
and HKEX under "9888." One Baidu ADS represents eight Class A
ordinary shares.
Media Contact
Intlcomm@baidu.com
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SOURCE Baidu, Inc.