Harness AI to help tackle tough issues, says Baidu's Li

Artificial intelligence-enabled technologies should be boosted and used to address such thorny issues as tracking lost children and easing traffic congestion, Robin Li, chairman and CEO of leading Chinese search engine Baidu, said on Friday.

In his proposal to the fifth session of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Li, a member of the CPPCC National Committee, called for preferential policies for development of AI through institutional innovation, data sharing and project support.

The proposal echoed China's push for AI research, just weeks after Baidu was nominated by the National Development and Reform Commission to lead the first national lab on deep learning, a leading algorithm of AI.