25th Annual CAST AI Forum: Driving Innovation, Fostering Development in AI Industry

The 25th Annual Meeting of the CAST General Artificial Intelligence Industry Innovation and Development Forum is held in Hefei city, Anhui province.

From October 20 to 21, 2023, the 25th Annual Meeting of the CAST General Artificial Intelligence Industry Innovation and Development Forum was held in Hefei city, Anhui province, under the theme of "Intelligence Emerging, Generating the Future." The forum was hosted by the CAST and the Anhui Provincial People's Government, organized by the Chinese Association of Automation (CAA), and co-organized by the Chinese Institute of Electronics, the Chinese Society of Particuology, the Chinese Institute of Command and Control, and the Anhui Province Artificial Intelligence Industry Promotion Group Office (Provincial Science and Technology Department). The forum received joint support from the University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui University, Hefei University of Technology, and the Anhui Province Association of Automation. Over 200 leaders from relevant departments, universities, research institutes, and enterprises attended the event in person, while the online audience exceeded 130,000 viewers.

The forum was presided over by Li Shaoyuan, the Vice Chairman of the CAA, the Vice President of Qingdao University of Science and Technology, and a Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The forum is chaired by Li Shaoyuan, Vice Chairman of the CAA, Vice President of Qingdao University of Science and Technology, and Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

In the opening ceremony, Wang Jinzhan, a member of the Leading Party Group of the CAST and Secretary of the Secretariat, delivered an address. He provided recommendations for the general technology industry, such as the acceleration of breakthroughs in key core technologies, the implementation of technology applications driven by scenarios, and the proactive promotion of artificial intelligence governance.

Zheng Nanning, an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Chairman of the CAA, and Professor at Xi'an Jiaotong University, stated in his speech that the artificial intelligence we strive for will possess human-like cognitive and action capabilities. To bring about transformative changes for humanity, cutting-edge science, a cohort of outstanding engineers, and substantial funding are essential.

Zheng Nanning, an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Chairman of the CAA, and Professor at Xi'an Jiaotong University, delivers a speech.

Sun Yunfei, a member of the Leading Party Group and Vice Chairman of the Anhui Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, emphasized in his speech that Anhui Province ranks sixth in the national artificial intelligence development index. Anhui is committed to continuously optimizing its technological innovation ecosystem and sincerely invites guests to explore more opportunities for communication and cooperation in Anhui for mutual benefit.

In the keynote report session, Qian Feng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a member of the supervisory board of the CAA, and a professor at East China University of Science and Technology, presented the first report of the forum titled "Frontiers of Industrial Intelligence and Intelligent System." The report concentrated on the cutting-edge areas of industrial intelligence and intelligent system, discussing the pivotal scientific issues and focus areas for equipping the manufacturing industry with artificial intelligence. It also delved further into the essence of industrial intelligence and proposed the focal points and overarching goals for frontier research in industrial intelligence.

Qian Feng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a member of the supervisory board of the CAA, and a professor at East China University of Science and Technology, presents a report.

Chen Junlong, an Academician of the European Academy of Sciences, Vice Chairman of the CAA, and Professor at South China University of Technology, delivered a keynote report titled "Development Trends of Artificial Intelligence and Exploration of AIGC Applications." The report provided a detailed introduction to the recently emerged AIGC/GPT series of human-computer interaction software robots, emphasizing that the three components of artificial intelligence -- algorithm, computing power, and data -- have become one of the core capabilities driving the digital economy's development.

Chen Junlong, an Academician of the European Academy of Sciences, Vice Chairman of the CAA, and Professor at South China University of Technology, delivers a report.

Liu Cong, Vice President and Dean of the Research Institute of iFlytek, presented a keynote report titled "Embracing the New Era of General Artificial Intelligence." The report outlined the transformative impact of cognitive intelligence large-model technologies on various industries and showcased iFlytek's innovative products and value realization through large-model applications across numerous sectors.

Liu Cong, Vice President and Dean of the Research Institute of iFlytek, delivers a report.

Wang Jinqiao, Deputy Director of the "Taichu" Large Model Research Center at the Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Dean of the Wuhan Institute of Artificial Intelligence, presented a keynote report titled "Practice and Reflections on Vision Large Models." The report highlighted the remarkable progress of language pre-training large models, such as ChatGPT, while also addressing the challenges and problems faced by the unified model for visual tasks.

Wang Jinqiao, Deputy Director of the "Taichu" Large Model Research Center at the Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Dean of the Wuhan Institute of Artificial Intelligence, delivers a report.

Cheng Yuan, a researcher at Fudan University, shared the keynote report titled "Fudan University's CFFF Scientific Computing Platform Empowers Research Innovation." The report emphasized the specifics of Fudan University's CFFF Scientific Computing Platform and showcased typical case studies of its empowerment in cross-disciplinary research.

Cheng Yuan, a researcher at Fudan University, delivers a report.

During the forum, the CAA and iFlytek signed a strategic cooperation agreement to explore the establishment of cooperative mechanisms, promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and drive technological progress and innovation-driven development.

The signing ceremony.

The forum organized two thematic forums titled "Large Models and Generative Artificial Intelligence" and "Human-Machine-Augmented Intelligence." Numerous experts and scholars participated in discussions on the current status of large language models in academia, industry, and research, as well as the development path of general artificial intelligence, providing strategic guidance for advancing its development in China. Additionally, the forum arranged a project results roadshow, where participating experts engaged in in-depth discussions on various topics, including " The Realization of Unmanned Factories for Textile, Apparel and Footwear and Its Key Technologies," "Key Technologies and Applications for Safety Risk Assessment and Smart Management and Control System in Industrial Parks," "Building a Smart Hospital Digital Base with AI + Robots," " Exploration and Practice of a New Model for Training Industrial Application-Oriented Artificial Intelligence Talents," and "Communication and Computing Integration through Computing Native Networks," exploring industry development trends, broadening innovative product ideas, fostering collaboration between academia and industry, and facilitating enterprise innovation and growth.

The 25th Annual Meeting of the CAST General Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Development Forum was organized to execute the directives of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Party meeting, which emphasized the importance of fostering general artificial intelligence development, promoting an innovation ecosystem, and proactively addressing potential risks. The forum aimed to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the development of large models, fast-track the application of artificial intelligence technologies, establish a high-quality industrial chain for general artificial intelligence technologies powered by big data, spur innovation in the general artificial intelligence domain in Anhui, and contribute to Anhui's establishment as an influential artificial intelligence research, development, and industrial hub.