Tencent says there are only 300,000 AI engineers worldwide, but millions are needed

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Tencent says there are only 300,000 AI engineers worldwide,but millions are needed

• "Tencent’s new “2017 Global AI Talent White Paper” suggests the bottleneck here is education. It estimates that 200,000 of the 300,000 active researchers are already employed in various industries (not just tech), while the remaining 100,000 are still studying. Attendance in machine learning and AI courses has skyrocketed in recent years, as has enrollment in online courses, but there is obviously a lag as individuals complete their education."

ai eCommerce News - June 30

AI/BOT: Is AI The Key To Retail’s Survival?

“Forty-five percent of retailers are planning to use AI in the next few years, according to the latest research from Boston Retail Partners. This AI integration will be done through the use of chatbots or digital assistants and primarily used for customer enhancement services.

•    Optimizing the customer experience — 55 percent

•    Increasing customer loyalty — 50 percent

•    Improving mobile shopping experience — 45 percent

•    Creating a seamless experience across channels — 42 percent

•    Enhancing personalized service/sales assistance — 32 percent

•    Providing personalized promotions, recommendations and/or offerings — 24 percent”

Alibaba is using AI to create tailor-made shopping experiences

“While it is still early days for AI technology, Alibaba has made no secret of its ambitions in the space. However, Alibaba faces competition from its rival Chinese internet companies Baidu and Tencent, both of which are investing heavily in AI.

Baidu, which is in the process of becoming an AI-first company, this year announced a major breakthrough in technology development after successfully teaching a virtual agent to learn a language from scratch. The move is viewed as a significant step towards teaching machines to learn like humans.

Last month, Tencent announced it would open a second AI lab, basing its new centre in Seattle, as the firm steps up its research into AI, machine learning and deep learning.”