Discussion keeps the world turning.
This is Roundtable.
The two sessions are in high gear in Beijing right now.
Notable from this year's top political meetings, science and tech are hot topics.
From AI to cutting -edge research, how is China steering its way through the future of innovation?
Coming to you live from Beijing, this is Roundtable.
I'm He Young. For today's program, I'm joined by Steve Hatherly and Yuxian in the studio.
First on today's show.
China's two sessions are in full swing in Beijing.
These annual meetings of the two political bodies, the National People's Congress, or MPC, and the Chinese People's Political Consolidative Conference, or CPPCC, set China's policy agenda for the year ahead.
and one major focus science technology and innovation these are key themes mentioned repeatedly in premier lee chung's government work report delivered at the npc's opening meeting on march the 5th npc deputies and cppcc members the country's top legislators and political advisors have submitted motions and proposals on this front which will be deliberated and can potentially shape future legislation.
Well, guys, the government work report has been buzzing with the talk of science, tech, and innovation.
Let us break it down so you don't have to.
Yuxian and Steve, what stands out the most?
Well, that's according to some work report conclusions online that released yesterday that it mentioned quite a bit about, under the AI Plus initiative, we now aim to effectively combine digital technologies with China's manufacturing and market strengths.
So we'll support the extensive application of large -scale AI models and also vigorously develop new generation and intelligent terminals and smart manufacturing equipments.
That being said, in the meantime, we mentioned this keyword called AI +, and that was mentioned in the government work report for the first time in 2024.
And also it's highlighted again in this year's work report.
So with the strengthening of policy guidance and also the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, AI is now widely applied in various industries here in China.
And also more and more disciplines and fields are actually deeply integrating the AI technology in our day -to -day lives.
We've already seen quite many examples of how AI is integrated into day -to -day products.
I was just watching a video today because we saw that embodied AI, not just AI as a technology, but how it's embodied on humanoid robots is being trendy quite a bit in the past few days.
We see a CGTN video of humanoid robots walking a machine dog in face of one of their reporters walking one actual, I think it's Shiba dog, the Japanese dog.
So the human and humanoid robots walking their own real dog and robot dog and they're waving at each other and interacting in a way that both can understand each other.
The dogs are playing together.
Puppy made a new friend.
I'd love to climb inside the mind of the real dog in that moment.
Well, he was he looks scared.
That's how the AI plus is kind of integrating into our daily lives nowadays.
Yeah. And talking about, you know, the broader scope of technologies and the spread of Chinese culture, the Internet is a very powerful tool and AI is a very powerful tool for spreading cultural aspects of a country to the world.
And Black Myth Wukong is a good example of that.
And Nja 2 is a good example of that, too.
So yeah, I watched bits of the, or not bits of the work report itself, but some highlights from news reports.
A lot of topics were covered.
A lot of very interesting topics were covered.
And it's a really, really obviously important part of the year because we get to hear information like that.
Yes, and you get a summary of all these important sectors and how the government has performed what are the focus of last year and maybe this year.
And people tend to sometimes even read between the lines and try to get more of a sense what's happening.
and also, you know, for different sectors, for companies, and if it trickles down to individuals, you know, it's also just a way to sort of assess this climate we're in and it affects people's lives for sure.
Yeah, totally, He Yang.
That's why we are paying a lot of attention on every year's work group, a governmental work report from the two sessions because it kind of set the tone for what's going to happen, like the development trends in the following year.
And here are some data to back what we just mentioned.
So local cyberspace administrations across China reported that as of August 2024, there are 197 registered artificial intelligence models in China now, with general models and industry models accounting for 31 % and 69%, respectively.
And also among them, the industry models involve multiple traditional fields such as education, finance, office, government affairs, and healthcare.
And, well, they also extended it to border scenarios, such as recruitment, home decoration, and manufacturing as well.
Well, take the steel industry as one example.
So data from the China Iron and Steel Industry Association shows that as of January 2025, so just earlier this year, 80 % of industry enterprises have built intelligent centralized control centers and 81 percent of enterprises are exploring the application of large models as well.
So these are all very vivid examples of how actual industries are applying AIs these days.
Oh yeah, tech is certainly moving fast and how is it being applied across various sectors including cultural preservation?
Yuxian caught up with MPC deputy Cui Yan, director of the China -Germany AI Institute at Wu Yi University.
Let's hear what he had to say.
So, Mr. Cui, we know that this is your third year participating in the two sessions as an NPC deputy in the field of science and technology.
So, how do you view the transformative role of artificial intelligence in all the different industries in the Chinese society today, and also what new suggestions you will bring to the two sessions this year?
Yes, AI has become a new focus on international competition and the key driver of the economic growth.
Looking back to the development of the AI, actually, this is only my opinion.
I think there's three waves.
The first wave was mainly driving by the research labs.
For example, It happens in the Tsinghua University or Beijing University, such as this institute, high -level institute.
And the second wave, it happens in the big companies, for example, Baidu, Tongsan and Alibaba, like these companies.
This is the third wave of AI technologies driven by DeepSeek.
It enables small and medium -sized businesses to use their own AI models at low cost.
Actually, our university, we universities, we aim it to the application, how to use the AI methods in the real application.
And as I said, DeepSeek, this technology allows us to compete with large companies or large institutes.
For example, the companies, they make home appliances like cheat meals or massage chairs.
it can now add features like voice interaction, personal coaches, and emotion support by using AI on their own service or their own products.
And this opens up more possibilities for lifestyle robots.
AI, it is a tool. I believe we should make the most of the opportunities from the third wave of AI to drive the new industrial updates and boost economic growth.
Actually, this year, I will present several proposals, including the proposal on using AI technology to empower the fourth national culture with technological inheritance and cultural application of AI in China.
Last year, we heard that you suggested to make full use of modern technology to establish a cultural relics resource database, sort of like an identity system or an ID card for each and every cultural relics that's exhibited in the museum these days.
So what inspired you and your team to want to develop such a system?
And also, by doing so, what impact has it had on cultural heritage preservation nowadays?
This is a really interesting question.
And also, this is what we focused on what we did for the last 10 years.
We used high technology like the digital twin for the 3D data collection.
and this helps us to capture 3D data of the available object and one side, it is the data use our AI method, we can collect micro 3D data and we can copy it from the real data to the computer and this technology also allows us to monitor the culture, heritage, size and the system building closely we can quickly identify the potential safety risks and address them before they become the problem.
This approach is a great example to how digital tools can support this preservation of a cultural heritage in China.
That's really nice.
And could you please give us one example?
Because we heard that you and your team revived the very famous piece of painting from The Forbidden City.
And it's a masterpiece that was created back in the Qing dynasty from 17th century to early 20th century.
And the painting is called bingsi tu, or rather, Picture of Ice Skating Game if translated into English.
I heard that you and your team revitalized the painting through 3D digital technology in a way that it's projected onto screens as if all the figures were actually moving and skating on the ice.
So could you please elaborate just a bit more on how this technology works?
Actually, the digital artwork Ice Cream is based on the two masterpieces from the Palace Museum collections.
And we extract the cultural and artisan and movement elements from the original paintings using both 2D hand -drawing and 3D digital modelling.
Through this work, we can almost feel as if we are travelled back in time to experience the ice creams.
and the great science of the Qing Dynasty Winter Olympic Games.
Actually, the main technology challenge, it is two areas.
First one, it is using digital technology to accurately present the entrance signs from the original paintings, including the buildings, trees, and eye surface.
We extracted and re -rendered into a 3D model.
This is a very tough problem.
And second one, it is the characters in the paintings.
They are up to more than 160 figures in total.
We use the 2D hand driving, color adjustment, and 3D modeling, and the final output to digitize these figures and bring them to life.
And this is very important, how to bring them to life, because you know it is the painting and took from the moment to express the story's background.
And to expand the culture influenced museums currently use physical exhibitions as one of the keen ways to reach the public.
Today, with the help of 3D digital technology, culture really can contact with the public in the new ways, creating a bridge for better communications.
That's really fascinating.
And apart from the preservation of cultural relics, we know that you've also been advocating for the integration of advanced technologies with public safety and the judicial system.
So please tell us, what challenges have you and your team faced in promoting these technologies in these sectors?
And also, what are the progress that you've made?
Currently, most security measurements are limited to the 2D systems.
2d system like the videos we can capture the video sequence and the 2d photos this is 2d case actually for the normal human we are living in the 3d environment and the menu checks and the video 2d video just not enough to cover all the security needs then the ai technologies like a 3D real world technology and large AI models have huge potential to improve the public safety measurement by combining 3D reconstruction of the real environments with smart analyze and we can shift public safety from reacting after the activity to before they happen.
This is very important.
Yeah, so now as we get to the day -to -day life and also how AI is applied to public safety I'm going to ask you one question here that is, in your perspective, what potential risks in AI applications should the society, especially the industry experts, pay close attention to and be particularly vigilant about?
This is a good question.
So actually, let me share a story about the AI case.
Recently, there was a shocking AI scream in Hong Kong.
In this case, the company's financial staff members was checked into the joint video call, but all the people on the call was fake.
The scammers used the AI to replicate their faces and voice.
And the members didn't realize this and ended up transferring large sums of money.
This is a really terrible thing.
The police believe that scrums use the public information of the company's executives and the fake technology to create these fake faces and voice.
This case shows how dangerous AI scrums can be.
As AI technologies get better, fake videos and voice will look normally to protect ourselves.
How to protect ourselves?
For one way, we should build a new law to protect it.
And the other side, for the normal human, we can do a lot of things.
For example, if you are on a video call, ask the person to make movement.
This could help you to spot if the face is destroyed.
Then you can see it is not real human.
You can also double -check through another way of communication or share information only both of you know.
Also, avoid sharing personal photos or videos on the walls or coding online.
But I think it is not possible.
So now that we're looking ahead, where do you see the greatest potential for the AI technology to impact our society in the next five to 10 years?
So as you said, we need to pay more close attention to the data protection.
But for the other side, we should make it clear that AI is deeply integrated to the world of China economics, driving the growth of the industries like smart robots and self -driving cars and smart homes.
And at the same time, it has become more involved in the area like housing care, education, transportation and old people care.
I believe we need to make the most of the AI opportunities.
First, we should focus on creating national AI innovation platform to boost our tech development and share resources.
For the other side, AI is a growth zone across many sectors.
So we should align with the industrial needs and promote it in the way like smart driving, healthy care, and low -attitude economic and smart cities.
And finally, we need to raise an international cooperation, including hosting AI companies to improve skills and culture AI talents.
Great insights from MPC Deputy Cui Yan, and very good interview, Yushan.
With rapid advancements come challenges.
And we've talked and covered on the show many times about the risks and benefits of AI, but these things change so rapidly.
And guys, what are your takeaways after listening to that interview?
Yeah, nice job, Yushin.
That was fun to listen to.
The ability of tech, digital tech, to restore and bring to life paintings from, did he say the Ming Dynasty or Qing Dynasty?
Qing Dynasty. And bring them to life.
I mean, that's incredible.
That's just incredible.
We talk about AI so much these days, and it's in the news every single day, that I feel like sometimes we forget how amazing these technologies are and what they're capable of.
We're starting to take it for granted a little bit, I feel.
That's an amazing achievement.
But then, yes, with cool new tech comes scary advancements from the criminal side of things.
And that meeting where faces were replicated, that's terrifying.
That is absolutely terrifying.
So the point about extra layers of security being necessary is a very, very valid point as well.
Yeah, and I had doubt at the very beginning.
I didn't really believe that something like this could happen.
So I look into the news, and apparently it was a real large -scale AI deep fake fraud case that occurred just last year in the Hong Kong SAR.
And the total sum of money that's been transferred away was HK $200 million.
So that's really kind of worrying if you think about it, that, you know, there are AI faces everywhere.
So yeah, like speaking with Deputy Cui Yan was kind of enlightening to me as well in so many ways.
And we're seeing that technology is pushing forward in many aspects.
And we know that for a lot of traditional industries, actually, this is a huge challenge.
They need a revamp and catch up with the digital tides.
So what do we see as possible smart transformations of traditional industries?
Well, one example that I also researched on is actually lies in the medical care system, because, you know, there are many deputies this year that's advocating for how we can, you know, empower the traditional industries with AI technology.
So this one deputy called And Geng Funeng, so he is the chairman of Good Doctor Group, one major enterprise with businesses across TCM research, or traditional Chinese medicine research here in China.
So according to them, they have been raising discussion on, you know, just improving grassroots level health care service with AI.
Because he, as far as he noticed, in many grassroots clinics that he visited, they still rely on the three good old tools, the stethoscope, the thermometer and blood pressure monitor, which is kind of falling behind nowadays with the medical care industry developing so fast.
So what he suggests is that with the growing public attention to China's homegrown AI reasoning model, DeepSeq, as we mentioned earlier, Many enterprises nowadays have already announced to have the access to DeepSeek AI model on their products for medical care or health care.
And if AI doctors can be deployed in clinics, then the clinic's diagnostic capabilities can be greatly improved.
And also maybe in the future they can predict your symptoms or predict your future health issues based on your current symptoms so that you can avoid having such issues in the future.
So that's really nice.
Yeah. And again, we say this every time, don't we?
When we talk about the AI factor working alongside humans, AI doctors are not going to replace human doctors.
Human doctors obviously play an irreplaceable role in disease management and also maybe even more importantly, doctor patient communication.
But again, AI, it should be used to improve the skills of doctors and provide better services for people as well.
Working together with AI can provide a better service.
Yes, that's definitely key.
And also, we've seen that with other traditional industries such as manufacturing, it's in the need of some catching up with technology as well.
And according to Wenfei, a deputy to the National People's Congress, he suggested also having, you know, over 30 years of work experience on the production line that Chinese factories could really do with more improvement in infrastructure, introducing industrial internet, big data, and other new technology that could help process data and come up with better solutions, even on the factory floor.
Yeah, sure. Building smart factories, talking about, like you mentioned, big data or cloud computing, the internet of things.
Making factories smarter would help improve work efficiency, and if you improve work efficiency, then you're going to get enhanced product quality.
Along with that could come manufacturing cost reductions, and then you would have a better work environment for employees to lower work intensity might be one of the beneficial factors for them.
Yeah, as Mr. Cui just mentioned in the interview, there are so rapid development on the digital technologies here in the Chinese society nowadays.
So along with all those digital transformation of the manufacturing industry, it is now a key area for a new round of technological renovation and industrial transformation.
Yeah, I suppose for those who work, especially in the traditional sectors such as manufacturing, you're possibly excited and overwhelmed at the same time, excited seeing there are so many interesting things that can be done with all this new tech, but also maybe a little bit worried and frustrated with how to get there because to get there, you'll need to invest in technology and that takes money.
So there are definitely opportunities and challenges that are intermingled in a way here.
