On the morning of June 29, the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality held a media briefing.

Wu Jincheng, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, introduced the details on preparations for the World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2023.

Zhang Ying, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, Wu Qiang, deputy chief of Pudong New Area, Yu Linwei, deputy chief of Xuhui District, and Chen Xiaohong, chairman of Shanghai Donghao Lansheng Exhibition Group, attended the press briefing and answered questions from reporters.

2023 marks the sixth consecutive year that Shanghai holds the World Artificial Intelligence Conference. This conference is co-sponsored by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government and the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the China Association for Science and Technology.

It will be held at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center from July 6 to 8, with branch sites in Zhangjiang, Pudong and West Bund, Xuhui, as well as events held in Minhang and other industrial agglomeration areas simultaneously.The conference theme is "Intelligent Connectivity, Generating Future."

The conference activities follow a structured format known as "1+1+2+10+N." This format includes one opening ceremony, one closing ceremony, two plenary sessions focusing on technological innovation and industrial development, 10 themed forums, and "N" ecosystem forums. The conference aims to fulfill its important role as a "technology leader, application showcase, industry accelerator, and governance council." It seeks to gather and integrate wisdom and insights, cutting-edge technologies, industrial trends, and humanities and ecosystems within the global artificial intelligence field. The ultimate goal is to promote the healthy and innovative development of artificial intelligence. Currently, the conference's preparatory work is in the final stage.

1. Shaping the future into a new era of artificial intelligence

This conference delves into the forefront of science and industrial development, with a specific focus on three major topics: technology, industry, and humanities. It centers on significant areas such as foundation models, smart chips, scientific intelligence, robotics, brain-like intelligence, metaverse, autonomous driving, data forums, rule of law and security, and blockchain.

In-depth discussions and exchanges on these 10 frontier directions will take place in collaboration with renowned universities such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Zhejiang University, Tongji University, and ShanghaiTech University. The conference aims to bring together prominent figures from both domestic and international spheres.

Over 1,400 distinguished guests, including leading scholars, renowned entrepreneurs, and representatives of international organizations, have confirmed their participation. Notable attendees include four Turing Award winners, David Patterson, Joseph Sifakis, Manuel Blum, and Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, Nobel laureate Michael Levitt, as well as more than 80 domestic and foreign academicians.

Additionally, the event will gather over 50 top executives from companies such as Tesla, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Huawei, and Alibaba. This expansion of the international cooperation network will be further facilitated through the involvement of esteemed international organizations like the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and UNESCO.

Furthermore, the conference will see its first-time collaboration with the IEEE Standards Association and IJCAI, while the Germany Baden-Württemberg Agency for International Economic and Scientific Cooperation will share cutting-edge trends. Additionally, the Singapore Week of Innovation & Technology (SWITCH) will promote the coordinated development of the international AI ecosystem. The conference will continue to prioritize agile governance.

With an inclusive, prudent, and innovation-friendly approach, it will host forums on artificial intelligence governance, science and technology ethics, and trustworthy AI achievements. Significant research outcomes will be unveiled, including foundation model ethics, risk assessment, legal governance for autonomous driving, and generative artificial intelligence initiative. These findings will contribute to the establishment of a secure, stable, and standardized development environment for technological innovation and industrial implementation.

2. High-level competitions to herald the new wave of AI technologies

The "one award and four competitions" system will be expanded and upgraded to establish deeper connections with global technology trends and the latest paper achievements.

This expansion aims to attract leading global companies, renowned universities, scientific research institutions, and innovation teams to compete for prestigious awards on popular tracks. The SAIL Award will continue to lead the industry, accompanied by a prize pool of 2 million yuan for the first time to further incentivize innovation and attract exceptional achievements from around the world.

The objective is to showcase cutting-edge breakthroughs in various fields. Enterprises, universities, and scientific research institutions are actively encouraged to participate in the evaluation process, and the preliminary evaluation of the Top 30 candidates has already been completed. The WAIC Youth Outstanding Paper Award, hosted by the China Association for Science and Technology, has selected 10 high-level award-winning papers from a pool of 235 entries from both domestic and international sources.

The influence of the four major competitions has been significantly amplified. Branded competitions such as AIWIN, Competition for Best Practices of Applied Algorithm (BPAA), Hackathon, and the Youth Artificial Intelligence Innovation Contest organized by the Shanghai Committee of the Communist Youth League of China will focus on popular software algorithms, open-source ecosystems, industry applications, and social science popularization. The participation of more than 3,000 teams will further elevate the events' impact.

3. Gathering momentum to create new models for unleashing value of artificial intelligence

This conference has achieved the highest number of exhibitors and the largest exhibition area to date. The 50,000-square-meter main exhibition showcases core technologies, smart terminals, application empowerment, and frontier advancements.

It encompasses areas such as foundation models, chips, robotics, and intelligent driving, with over 400 exhibitors, including more than 50 outstanding start-ups, and the first launch and exhibitions of over 30 new products.

The event serves as a hub for gathering and exchanging ideas on foundation models, both domestically and internationally. Notably, the conference brings together renowned teams and distinguished guests from around the world, with more than 30 foundation models making their debut for exchange purposes.

The core development teams will share their insights on the paths of foundation models, highlighting the industry's diverse ecosystem. The event also features multiple innovation demonstrations, including two themed exhibitions: "China's Artificial Intelligence Industry Innovation Achievement Exhibition" and "Towards General Artificial Intelligence" for the first time, which specifically focus on AI innovation accomplishments and the future layout of industrial clusters.

Zhangjiang, Xuhui, and Minhang sites are interconnected to showcase scenes revolving around metaverse, artificial intelligence plus arts, intelligent robots, and other thematic elements. This collaboration aims to create immersive experience spaces that engage and captivate visitors.

The conference endeavors to present a thriving ecosystem of science and technology innovation. In conjunction with this, the World Artificial Intelligence Conference Private Enterprise Open Day 2023 will be held simultaneously, actively inviting the public to explore artificial intelligence enterprises, in a bid to foster a robust atmosphere of technological innovation within the city.

Leveraging opportunities valued at 100-million-yuan-level supply and demand, the conference will organize over 100 procurement tour groups after collecting more than 80 artificial intelligence industry requirements, and will facilitate over 20 buyer matching meetings. These initiatives cover areas such as smart finance, smart industry, metaverse, carbon neutrality, investment, and financing, forging connections among more than 100 upstream and downstream companies and enhancing the ment of supply and demand through strong professional collaboration.

4. Envisioning the new landscape of artificial intelligence applications

The conference curates an intelligent and immersive experience space, centered around the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center, while onsite and online platforms are seamlessly integrated. This integration aims to create an innovative, forward-looking, and visually appealing application experience.

The conference expands the scope of intelligent application scenarios by leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as metaverse and digital humans. It introduces captivating projects like "thousands of people with thousands of faces" digital avatars, virtual-real combinations at landmarks such as Lujiazui and Xuhui AI Tower, and comprehensive robot services.

By focusing on scene experiences, smart venues, and online platforms, the conference delves into immersive experiences of intelligent environments, embarking on a journey to explore the "digital future." The online experience is significantly upgraded, with the conference's cloud platform 4.0 offering customized interfaces, smart labels, and intelligent recommendations.

The online Metaverse exhibition platform, Yuan Jing Planet 2.0, further enhances the immersive interactive technology by seamlessly integrating the virtual and real worlds. It incorporates high-quality 3D modeling, realistic scene restorations, and low-latency data transmission.

This allows online audiences to enjoy a 360-degree experience of the opening ceremony and other grand events, providing them with a more futuristic journey.

Additionally, the conference will announce various policies and establish alliances focusing on key areas and emerging sectors within the artificial intelligence industry. These initiatives aim to further promote global-scale open cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence.