Booth of SenseTime at World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on July 5, 2024 Photo: VCG

"I am so surprised to see a greater diversity of exhibitors compared to that of last year, with both well-established internet giants and emerging artificial intelligence (AI) startups having a strong presence," an AI entrepreneur surnamed Hua told the Global Times on Friday.

The extensive displays of China's large language models (LLMs) at the ongoing World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai demonstrate the tangible benefits of AI technology in boosting productivity and driving economic development, underscoring its potential to fuel growth and transformation in the country, the Global Times learned from industry leaders, business insiders and experts participating in the event.

The event indicates the diversification and competitiveness of the domestic industry, Hua said, adding that more and more tech companies are shifting from showcasing their LLMs to pursuing practical applications and commercial capabilities.

The cutting-edge AI products on display at this year's WAIC have showcased their practical use in different industrial applications, playing a key role in advancing the Chinese economy through innovation and modernization.

"The event marked the moment when major companies are starting to take actions and domestic AI startups are really flourishing," Hua noted, after spending the whole afternoon exploring the exhibition.

Spanning 52,000 square meters, the expo highlights advances in key areas such as computing power, robotics, and autonomous driving. Representatives were able to explore cutting-edge "AI+" applications and discover a plethora of highly anticipated innovative products.

Major players in the large model race, such as SenseTime and iFlytek, have unveiled their latest LLMs, as well as AI applications in many fields such as medical care, education, and business.

One notable example is SenseTime. The company unveiled SenseNova 5.5, its most advanced LLM, which is being touted as a rival to OpenAI's GPT-4o in areas such as mathematical reasoning, according to a note the company sent to the Global Times on Friday.

Another key highlight came from IFlytek, which launched the new-generation Spark-Desk V4.0, an LLM that enables teachers to provide differentiated guidance. Meanwhile, a Shanghai-based AI company, United Imaging Intelligence, has introduced its uAI MERITS tool, a metaverse ecosystem for robotic intervention, therapy, and surgery. Based on this tool, the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Team, led by Prof. Richard Su and Dr. Jane Pu from the Faculty of Dentistry at The University of Hong Kong, in collaboration with United Imaging Intelligence, has performed the world's first oral and maxillofacial reconstructive surgery powered by medical large multimodal model.

"This is a booming era, which holds great promise for improving efficiency, productivity, and innovation across various industries," Hua noted. New generations of LLMs, along with many other innovative and technical exhibits, jointly showcased how China's fast-developing AI technology is bringing convenience, efficiency and a better quality of life, he said.

The opinion was echoed by Yan Junjie, the founder of Shanghai-based AI unicorn MiniMax, who told the Global Times on Friday that Chinese AI participants are becoming more pragmatic and ambitious, as they are now more interested in demonstrating how AI technology can be applied in various industries and sectors to enhance productivity and improve efficiency, Yan said.

Nowadays, AI technology is powering a range of industrial and consumer products, including chatbots like ChatGPT and Minimax, as well as autonomous driving systems, said business insiders. It can also do things like helping to design new molecules for drug development and enable new product design and optimization.

In the realm of autonomous driving, vehicles with AI technology can automatically choose the optimal route, maintain a proper speed and smoothly pass through complex road sections. In the medical sector, AI-enabled surgical robots can help increase the precision and accuracy of operations, which helps in reducing post-surgery pain and shortening hospital stays.

With more than 50 new products, LLMs or related systems from Chinese AI enterprises "reflect the prosperity of China's AI industrial ecosystem," according to Liu Qingfeng, chairman of iFlyTek.

"We need to prepare for an AI-enabled future," Liu Gang, chief economist at the Chinese Institute of New Generation AI Development Strategies, told the Global Times on Friday.

This advanced technology has become a crucial driving force for China's sci-tech development, its industrial transformation and upgrading, and the overall improvement of its productivity, propping up the replacement of old growth drivers with new ones and high-quality economic development, Liu Gang noted.

Business leaders also emphasized the importance of technological innovation and its practical adoption in order to drive forward economic growth. "The application of LLMs in different industries can boost product competitiveness and generate new added value. Additionally, it can enhance the efficiency of enterprise innovation by improving processes and decision-making in broader and more complex scenarios," experts said.

China now hosts more than 4,500 AI companies. Its core AI industry reached a scale of more than 578 billion yuan ($81 billion) in 2023, up 13.9 percent year on year, Xinhua News reported on Tuesday.