Wang Jingli

wangjingli0715@163.com

FROM humanoid robots and surgical robots to coffee machines, Shenzhen has released nearly 200 urban AI application scenarios in 2024, bringing convenience to citizens and empowering industrial development.

Ding Tian, a researcher with the Shenzhen Research Institute of Big Data (SRIBD) and the Shenzhen International Center for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, noted that Shenzhen has made significant contributions to various aspects of the AI ecosystem.

Ding highlighted the city’s advancements in computing infrastructure.

He also praised the widespread application of AI across various industries in the city.

“Shenzhen has developed vertical large foundation models for different sectors. For instance, in health care, our institute, in collaboration with The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, created HuatuoGPT to assist medical consultations,” Ding said.

“The local government and public sectors have also actively embraced AI applications. Their active adoption of AI has driven demand and encouraged startups and companies to provide AI services,” Ding remarked.

On the global stage, Ding has observed a shift in AI development in the U.S. from universities to major enterprises such as Google, Meta, and OpenAI.

“These companies have invested heavily in training AI models and have recruited renowned AI researchers,” Ding said, adding that SRIBD not only focuses on AI application research but also on fundamental research in theory and algorithms.

According to the 2024 Shenzhen Artificial Intelligence Industry Development White Paper, released in April last year, Shenzhen’s core AI industries reached an economic scale of 38.7 billion yuan (US$5.33 billion) in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 12.1%. By the end of 2023, the total number of AI enterprises in Shenzhen had reached 2,267.

In 2023, the number of AI-related patent applications in the city reached 6,080, ranking Shenzhen second among major Chinese cities.