Artificial intelligence is in its prime, creating innovative "nuclear explosion points" and targeting applications on a "new track"! Targeting at Shanghai Technology | Artificial Intelligence | Nuclear Explosive Point

Illustrated by Tao Lei, a journalist from Xinmin Evening News, showing the scholar's universal large model system on site at the Science Frontiers Main Forum of the Artificial Intelligence Conference

If artificial intelligence is viewed as a towering tree, then since the first Artificial Intelligence Conference in 2018, the tree's annual rings have become thicker and thicker. The inner layer is the fundamental research for creating innovative "nuclear explosion points"; The outer circle is focused on applied research and industrial landing, aiming at "new tracks" and "new trends". The inner layer absorbs nutrients, making this towering tree grow more and more lush; The outer circle firmly grasps the earth, and the root system continues to extend. The two support each other like brothers, interpreting the vivid story of the technological pinnacle and application site in the construction of Shanghai's artificial intelligence highland.

The 2023 World Artificial Intelligence Conference has kicked off, and amidst the "Voice of the Future" of two plenary sessions on scientific frontiers and industrial development, as well as multiple thematic forums, and through visits to the streets and alleys of Shencheng, journalists have developed such a "towering and earth standing" image in their minds.

Illustrated: AI Painting Experience at the Frontier Science Forum Attracting Audiences, Photo by Tao Lei

>>Technical Summit

Years like a day, perseverance brings echoes.

High end platforms such as Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Shanghai Autonomous Intelligence Unmanned System Science Center, and Qizhi Research Institute have launched operations to explore the forefront of artificial intelligence technology as "unmanned areas". Here, the largest intelligent chip innovation enterprise in the country and the largest artificial intelligence computing center in Asia are gathering for operation; The world's leading general vision technology system "Scholar" was released, the world's first AI developed breast cancer new drug was approved for clinical use, and the high throughput flexible brain computer interface performance reached the world's advanced level

Pioneering cutting-edge technology makes cities "editable"

Twist and twist the squares on the upper floors of the Chinese Art Palace, what will this Shanghai landmark born at the World Expo look like?

Amidst exclamation and applause, Professor Lin Dahua from the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory completed such a demonstration. It's not over yet. It's already common to have a few rounds of conversations with the big language model. Have you ever seen such an operation - the picture shows a chimney. Click on it, enter the keyword "Eiffel Tower" in the dialog box, and the chimney will be replaced by the tower!

Another wave of amazement! This scene occurred at the forefront of science conference, where nearly a thousand young students signed up to participate in the 500 person venue. The corridors on both sides of the venue were crowded with young people looking forward to learning about the cutting-edge technology of artificial intelligence.

Image description: VR glasses at the forefront of science main forum can be watched live by Tao Lei

"When it comes to generative artificial intelligence today, we still think of photos one by one; in the future, AIGC may generate our homes and the entire city in our minds," said Lin Dahua, who released the world's first city level NeRF realistic 3D model, "Scholar · Sky".

"Scholar · Skyline" proposes a new representation and training paradigm for real-world 3D models at the large model level, which can accurately present large-scale 3D urban scenes with 4K level image accuracy. In the reconstructed 3D reality, it not only has the ability to adjust the urban layout, including removal, movement, and construction of new urban buildings, but also can adjust the urban style such as lighting and seasons from a "God's perspective".

"'Scholar · Skyline 'has surpassed' urban reconstruction 'and achieved a breakthrough in the' urban editing 'function," Lin Dahua proudly introduced.

Behind the high-performance core of achieving urban "editable" is the courage and strength of Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory to break through outdated problems and bravely explore "unmanned areas". "We have pioneered the 'urban neural radiation field' technology," explained Lin Dahua. "The proposal of this work is ahead of Google and Carnegie Mellon University." The laboratory also innovatively proposed a complete set of innovative 'problem-solving ideas' of' algorithms+computing systems+operators', making large-scale, high-precision, and editable urban level NeRF realistic 3D models a reality. ".

Despite the fact that Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory is very "young", they have many impressive hard core achievements. Half a month ago, at the top conference in the field of artificial intelligence, the International Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, which has the most academic influence, the paper related to the universal model of autonomous driving proposed by Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory stood out from nearly 10000 research results and won the "Best Paper Award" - this is the first best paper in the three top conferences in computer vision in the past decade with Chinese academic institutions as the first unit.

"The laboratory adheres to the principle of leading technological progress with original innovation and empowering the innovation ecosystem with open source and openness. The laboratory also conducts comprehensive open source on models, data, tools, and evaluation to promote technological innovation and industrial progress." Professor Qiao Yu, assistant director of the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, told reporters.

Scientists "boldly walk" Entrepreneurs "confidently invest"

Pfizer's COVID-19 oral drug "Nematovir/Litonavir" is widely known, but what is little known is that in the early research and development process of this drug, Jingtai Technology and Pfizer team worked together to use artificial intelligence algorithms combined with experimental verification methods to confirm the dominant crystal form of the drug in only six weeks. "The screening of advantageous crystal forms is difficult, but artificial intelligence has directly accelerated the process of new drug launch." Ma Jian, co-founder and CEO of Jingtai Technology, shared, "We have built basic research facilities to enhance the ability to generate high-quality data and make drug development more automated and intelligent." The reporter learned that Jingtai Technology's "AI drug development automation solution" has also been selected as one of the nine "Treasures of Town Hall" at the conference.

Illustrated: Jingtai Technology's AI drug development automation robot can synthesize AI designed molecules with potential for traditional Chinese medicine in reality and conduct tests. Photo by Chen Mengze, a reporter from Xinmin Evening News

"The 2-year-old Labrador dog 'Neo' and the 7-year-old rhesus monkey 'Wukong' respectively completed electrode implantation surgery for brain computer interface. After implanting 256 channels of cortical electrodes, both can collect local field potential signals. 'Neo' successfully achieved motion decoding, and 'Wukong' successfully achieved experimental effects of playing games through thoughts." At the 2023 World Artificial Intelligence Conference "Brain Computer Intelligence and Digital Life" theme forum, the results released by Brain Tiger Technology were impressive.

"Two animal experiments show that we have now achieved 100% self research of the whole chain of brain computer interface system from electrode preparation, signal acquisition, and neural decoding," said Tao Hu, vice director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai Institute of Microsystems and Information Technology, founder and chief scientist of Naohu Technology.

Neurolink, a brain computer interface startup, has gained global attention largely because it is backed by Elon Musk. Behind Brain Tiger Technology, there is also a well-known investor among the public - Chen Tianqiao, founder of Tianqiao Brain Science Research Institute. On the forum, Chen Tianqiao once again presented a "big gift package" worth about 1 billion yuan, promoting the combination and promotion of human intelligence and machine intelligence. "The digital life depicted in science fiction novels is desirable, and I believe that only AI+neuroscience can create a true and soulful digital life," he said.

The reporter learned that this "big gift package" includes the establishment of MindX laboratory with a start-up budget of 100 million US dollars; Build a series of cutting-edge laboratories such as "AI+Sleep Dreams" and "AI+Anti Aging", with a start-up budget of 50 million yuan per laboratory, and no ceiling on sustainable investment.

"Brain science is currently one of the most complex and challenging research fields for humans, and the operation of artificial intelligence also faces problems such as process opacity and uncontrollability." Professor Gwen Schke, director of the Frontier Laboratory of Applied Neurotechnology at Tianqiao Brain Science Research Institute, told reporters that MindX Laboratory is recruiting two top scientists from the global AI and neuroscience communities to serve as directors. On the one hand, combining in-depth research on the human brain in learning, memory, cognition, emotion and other fields, it promotes the further development of artificial intelligence; On the other hand, utilizing next-generation AI technology to uncover the essence of the brain.

Image description: Shangtang Battery Six sided Defect Detection Technology utilizes artificial intelligence combined with visual perception technology to efficiently detect areas such as battery caps, welds, and explosion-proof valves. Photo by Chen Mengze

>>Application Site Chapter

The development of artificial intelligence in Shanghai is presented like a kaleidoscope, but its ultimate goal is to achieve people's aspirations and expectations for intelligent living, and gradually become a part of life year after year.

In hospitals, patients use intelligent medical systems such as intelligent consultation and auxiliary imaging diagnosis, greatly improving the accuracy and efficiency of diagnosis; In banks, the differentiated and intelligent financial services created by artificial intelligence technology are reshaping the financial service model; On the streets, artificial intelligence is rapidly processing massive amounts of data, equipping smart brains for refined urban management, and creating a safer, more convenient, efficient, and faster picture of a better life

If we talk about the most visible "spillover effect" of the six conferences, then the application scenario must be "sacrificing oneself for others.".

Applying Goodness to Assist Smart Elderly Care

According to data statistics, in 2022, the population aged 60 and above in Shanghai accounted for 25%, the population aged 65 and above accounted for 18.7%, and the elderly population has reached 5.5 million. The degree of aging is still deepening, and technological innovation is helping elderly care services achieve a "curve overtaking".

The Linfen Road Street in Jing'an District has created a model room for "smart elderly care at home" to ensure the safety of the elderly. The door of this model room is unlocked using fingerprints. When the door is opened, the "door magnetic alarm" above the door edge records the time and frequency of opening and closing in real time. If the elderly forget to close the door for some reason, they will inform the emergency contact person set in advance. There are 7 similar alarm devices in the house, designed according to different scenarios. For example, the kitchen is equipped with a "gas alarm" and a "smoke alarm", and the bathroom is equipped with a "water immersion alarm"

At the Shanghai Fourth Social Welfare Institute located in Songjiang District, mattresses equipped with sensing devices will record data on elderly people with cognitive impairment, including hourly movement trends, respiratory rates, and frequency of out of bed alarms. The data will be synchronized to the smart elderly care platform in the hospital for analysis, and corresponding nursing measures and treatment methods will be developed based on this.

According to the three-year action plan for promoting the construction of smart nursing homes in Shanghai, by the end of 2025, the city will complete the construction of at least 100 smart nursing homes, including the construction of six major sectors: smart occupancy management, smart catering management, smart health management, smart life care, smart safety protection, and smart management and operation, covering all aspects of daily operation of nursing homes.

Applying Fast to Accelerate Autonomous Driving

The continuous breakthroughs in technologies such as artificial intelligence, vehicle networking, and sensors have driven the continuous enhancement of autonomous driving capabilities, bringing profound changes to the transportation industry.

The logistics loop from the bridgehead of Donghai Bridge to Yangshan Port, with a round-trip distance of 72 kilometers, is currently the longest commercial operation scenario for autonomous driving in the world, undertaking the import and export throughput of Shanghai, the world's largest container port. Starting from July 18, 2022, Shanghai launched the first "downsizing" test of social road autonomous driving in China at the Donghai Bridge, gradually reducing personnel participation and ensuring the safe implementation of autonomous driving technology, ultimately achieving "true unmanned".

Image description: Xijing Technology showcases full-time unmanned new energy heavy-duty trucks, photographed by Chen Mengze

In the future, the commercial operation of intelligent heavy-duty trucks will effectively alleviate the traffic pressure on the Donghai Bridge. The Donghai Bridge is the only land transportation channel for Yangshan Deepwater Port. Conducting a 5-car following autonomous transportation operation here will further break the bottleneck of large-scale transportation across islands and seas, improve traffic efficiency by at least 40%, and save at least 80% of labor costs.

According to the Shanghai Intelligent Connected Vehicle Development Report, as of the end of 2022, Shanghai has opened a total of 926 roads and 1800 kilometers, and has basically achieved the full opening of the Jiading 464 square kilometers and Lingang 386 square kilometers blocks, ranking first in terms of mileage in the country. Shanghai is also actively carrying out innovative practices in intelligent connected vehicle testing. As of the end of 2022, a total of 28 enterprises have conducted road testing and demonstration applications on 602 vehicles, with a total testing mileage of over 12.25 million kilometers.

Image description: SAIC Zhiji LS7's full AI cabin display, photographed by Liu Xin

With comprehensive scenarios and excellent testing and application environments, Zongmu Technology has attracted a large number of innovative enterprises to settle in Shanghai. It has been rooted in Zhangjiang, Pudong for nearly a decade and has become one of the leading suppliers of autonomous driving and advanced driving assistance system technology and products in China. In the view of the company leader, from the perspective of supporting the industrial chain, a large number of international component industry giants have gathered in the Yangtze River Delta, and choosing to settle here has great advantages, helping enterprises catch the fast lane of the autonomous driving industry.

Empowering People's Cities with Applications

Cities are the largest application scenarios, the best testing ground for artificial intelligence technology, and the best place to realize its value.

On the streets and alleys of Shanghai, you can see an "intelligent scene": the digital screens on the bus stops constantly remind passengers of the arrival time of the next bus; The "Suishenban" on the mobile phone is like a versatile "mini butler", covering various daily life services that citizens need to handle; Through data analysis, the street accurately grasps the distribution of elderly population in each area and reasonably allocates elderly service resources

Image description: Meituan releases its fourth generation drone, with a maximum payload of 2.5 kilograms and a maximum delivery radius of 5 kilometers. Photo by Chen Mengze

Behind the convenience and efficiency, there are "smart brains" conducting command and scheduling. Shanghai uses the "One Network for Government Services" and "One Network for Urban Operations" as carriers to promote the transformation of urban governance towards human-machine collaboration, data-driven, and cross-border integration, achieving a leap from digitization to intelligence and then to intelligence.

The core of these two "networks" is to use real-time online data and various intelligent methods to timely and accurately identify problems, connect needs, analyze situations, and prevent risks. People's cities are built by the people, and people's cities are for the people. Building a city into what people want, artificial intelligence will become an important booster. As artificial intelligence technology moves from solving industry pain points to empowering various industries, it will align with the inherent requirements of urban governance development. By strengthening the digital foundation of cities, it will make urban governance smarter, more efficient, and safer.

In the "14th Five Year Plan" for the development of Shanghai's artificial intelligence industry, it is mentioned that to promote efficient urban governance, it is necessary to "build an urban intelligent base, achieve comprehensive AIoT of urban elements. Create an intelligent center for urban operation, build a digital twin platform for the city. comprehensively promote the application of intelligent scenes, improve the overall operation and decision-making efficiency of the city, and build an intelligent risk prevention and response system.".

Xinmin Evening News reporter Gao Yang, Ye Weiyi Rong, Yang Yu, Hong Ma Dan