The race for AI talent intensifies 

Even though China bans the use of Google as a search engine, the company is keen to tap into the country’s tremendous talent pool in AI and machine learning, with many of the world’s top experts in this area based there.
Google’s Beijing move will intensify the already fierce war for AI talent between companies there such as Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba, as well as the Chinese government, which has established a road map for dominance in AI by 2030. Before too long AI is likely to be used in every aspect of business and commerce. It is already being used in areas such as high-tech manufacturing, where efficiencies can be harnessed through Big Data and robotics. A good example is Chinese car manufacturer SAIC’s new factory in Chon Buri, which has the latest in automation and the most intelligent robotics facility in Thailand.
Naturally, many technology companies choose to have a strong presence in both the US and China. The US remains the global leader in innovation, and also in education – a recent report into AI by Tencent estimated that America is home to about 1,000 or nearly 40 per cent of the world’s universities teaching machine learning and related subjects. 
China, however, has the advantage of scale, with 731 million people online. Baidu and other Chinese tech giants are building AI platforms based on voice, image and facial recognition – these technologies are being quickly adopted by Chinese users which is helping advance the AI ecosystem. Baidu’s chief operating officer, Qi Lu, who used to lead AI development for Microsoft, says Chinese companies are benefiting by building new AI-based platforms rather than using earlier modes of interaction such as mobile or touch. Chinese companies are also using open source to tap into China’s massive and dynamic data pool and the myriad businesses there. According to Lu China can innovate faster “because we’ve got more data and can achieve more capability in our simulation engines”. 
Just over a month ago, together with other Bangkok Bank executives, I joined Tencent’s global partner conference in Chengdu where I had a chance to see some of the latest technologies on offer, including its version of Google Glass or augmented reality. 
AI is an integral part of where Tencent is heading and it was certainly impressive. 
Given that AI is such a new and rapidly-developing field, the shortfall of talent worldwide is extreme, and it will take years for a new generation of AI engineers to be trained. 
This is a problem that Thailand also needs to address if it is to become an advanced manufacturing centre.