Alibaba Group co-founder and executive chair Jack Ma will join Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk on stage for a conversation about artificial intelligence (AI) at the opening of the 2019 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai from Aug. 29 to 31.
The fiery Musk, who has also become famous as a leading opponent of "evil AI," and Ma, who will retire from Alibaba in September, will share their thoughts about AI and whatever interests them in what might become a delightful and freewheeling conversation between these two tech giants. Each will also deliver a speech.
Apart from attending the AI conference, Musk will also travel to China to launch The Boring Company's China division.
Ma and Musk will meet amid a worsening trade war between the United States and China launched in 2018 by president Donald Trump. Musk's company is being heavily hit by China's retaliatory tariffs. Tesla will suffer even more when China imposes an additional 25% tariffs on its electric vehicles (EVs) exported to China by Aug. 15.
Ma, on the other hand, remains a vocal critic of Trump's trade war. He famously described the trade war as "the most stupid thing in this world" a year ago.
On Aug. 23, Trump announced additional tariffs on $550 billion of Chinese exports to the U.S. a few hours after China announced tariffs on $75 billion of U.S. exports.
Top executives from multinational giants Amazon, Baidu, Huawei, iFlytek, Microsoft and Xiaomi will speak on topics spanning AI chips, 5G, smart driving, and smart cities.
Organizers said WAIC 2019 won't focus solely only on jargon like "algorithms" and "adversarial networks." Participants will discuss ways in which AI can be integrated into daily life, in industries while helping transform countries.
"Artificial intelligence has become a core driving force for the new round of industrial transformation and is exerting a profound impact on the world's economy, social progress, and human life," said Wu Jincheng, chairman of the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information Development.
Wu called the event "a top-level global stage for AI industry development and technology innovation."
WAIC's theme is "Intelligent Connectivity, Infinite Possibilities." WAIC will be held at the Pudong New Area and the Xuhui District.
Organizers said WAIC has attracted almost 300 speakers, including scientists, businessmen, and government officials from around the world. Many of the speakers will talk about new technological frontiers and industry trends in a wide variety of disciplines.
More than 400 exhibitors will showcase the latest in AI technologies and applications. All WAIC venues will offer 5G connections. 5G provides Internet speeds up to 50 times faster than 4G networks.
The conference is expected to attract 200,000 visitors, including 70,000 professionals, according to the organizers.
