David Wallerstein, Tencent's chief exploration officer, encouraged the European Union to join the race in the development of artificial intelligence by focusing on industries not prioritized by China and the United States.
The race in artificial intelligence is currently dominated by China and the United States. While the world's two largest economies are prioritizing developments in robotics for the manufacturing industry and defense, the EU, o the other hand could focus on developments in areas less pursued such as the medical field or the energy sector according to Wallerstein.
The EU could chase AI applications in sectors that contribute to the improvement of the human life, Wallerstein said at a conference in Helsinki, Finland last week. The executive of China's biggest tech player said EU should not neglect developing AI applications even if the country's developments at present could still not compete with what China and the United States could develop.
Wallerstein explained that Europe should start getting on the AI race as the world is on its way to having 8.5 billion people. As the additional billion populations will be coming from the developing nations, Europe could now position itself ahead of the competition in the region, the Tencent executive stated. Europe could make developments in the energy sector where there is a huge potential in future, he said.
China and the United States are ahead of the AI race as the two countries have more relaxed privacy policies compared to Europe, The Telegraph noted. While there are many AI developers in the EU, most of them, about a third of AI graduates, preferred to pursue their careers with top tech companies in Silicon Valley.
Wallerstein statement came as Tencent partnered with Medopad Ltd, a digital hub in London. The two entities partnered together to develop an AI system that could remotely monitor patients with Parkinson's.
Wei Fan, executive director for AI research at Tencent, said the partnership hoped to launch an AI system that would allow doctors to recommend drug doses and care for Parkinson's patients without them having to visit the hospital.
Aside from Tencent, Medopad, backed by Bayer AG, had signed deals amounting to $131 million with other Chinese companies for the development according to Bloomberg. The company had also created mobile apps for patients with diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and other diseases.
Face with tougher government restrictions on its video gaming content, Tencent is seemingly focusing its initiative in different AI ventures.
Fan said that AI is "very hot right now" and Tencent believed the technology could be of better use if developments could help people.
Indeed, Tencent has various ventures in place with companies in the medical sector. It has recently entered partnerships with Novartis AG, AstraZeneca Plc, and invested with WeDoctor, an AI-enabled startup. It has also backed Blue, an app-based health insurer.
