Industry elites chart future of AI at GAI+ Conference

Participants attend the 2025 GAI+ Conference at the Zhongguancun International Innovation Center in Beijing, Nov. 16, 2025. [Photo by Yang Chuanli/China.org.cn]

The 2025 GAI+ Conference was held at the Zhongguancun International Innovation Center in Beijing from Nov. 15-17. The conference gathered industry experts, leading enterprise representatives, entrepreneurs and investors to map out a new blueprint for the development of the "AI Plus" initiative.

Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, the first Chinese scientist to receive the Turing Award and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered a keynote speech at the event titled "The Future Trends of AI" on Nov. 16. He pointed out that years of scientific and technological progress have injected new momentum into AI development. Meanwhile, the emergence of large models is revolutionizing various industries, spurring a new wave of AI development and offering unlimited opportunities. 

He stated that the most important direction for future AI development is artificial general intelligence (AGI), which boasts broad prospects and far-reaching impacts, necessitating continuous innovation and breakthroughs. He further emphasized that while China has no shortage of application-oriented talents and scenarios, the current priority is to cultivate more top-tier innovative talents.

From the very beginning, China's AI development has emphasized deep integration with the real economy. Li Meng, chairman of the China Society for Sustainable Development, noted in his speech that China's AI development adheres to a three-pronged approach, promoting technological R&D, product application and industrial cultivation. Through practical applications, China is continuously improving the theoretical system and exploring new development directions, enabling AI to empower countless industries, to take root in specific scenarios, and thereby to boost economic development and enhance people's wellbeing.

As a representative of emerging enterprises, Wang Xingxing, founder of Unitree Robotics, outlined the development prospects of AI technology for the next decade from an industrial practice perspective. "The next decade will see robots evolve from 'being able to do things' to 'knowing how to do things,' and from 'industrial tools' to 'life partners'," he said.

The first batch of Zhongguancun (ZGC) AI Business International Service Hubs were officially inaugurated at the conference. These hubs will provide more precise and comprehensive one-stop services for Zhongguancun enterprises expanding into overseas markets, bridging the "last mile" for their global expansion.

Released concurrently with the conference, the book "AI China Solutions" presents industrial case studies in fields such as smart energy, intelligent equipment and spatial intelligence. It vividly demonstrates China's distinctive pathway of using real-world scenarios to drive technological innovation, and in turn, using innovation to advance industrial upgrading, offering a valuable reference for addressing the global challenge of implementing AI technologies.