Sharing a technological vision

MIT's associate provost for international activities, Richard Lester, says: "For MIT, it's important to work with the best people, facility and equipment. In many fields, we see Chinese researchers have been in the forefront. I think what we have today in the sessions are just a few of a much larger opportunity to cooperate with China."

McGovern Institute for Brain Research director Robert Desimone explained at one of the sessions how the institute applies AI and machine learning to create models that work in ways that resemble the human brain, allowing them to understand the brain's complexity.

He also discussed AI's potential to personalize education.

"Not all students are exactly alike, and they will respond differently to the same kind of educational experience," he says.

"(With the help of AI,) they will have approaches that are suitable for a wider range of children, so they can all be successful."

The summit also invited researchers involved in a project named MIT Quest for Intelligence.

The project has two components-advancing the science and engineering of intelligence of both humans and machines, and using AI tools to enable scientific discoveries in other disciplines, according to MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab director Daniela Rus.

Rus emphasizes the necessity of being aware of AI's social implications as the technology is beginning to affect decision-making and people's actions.

"It's a field that has woken up to the importance of ethnics," she says. "That requires contributions from technologists, philosophers, ethicists, policymakers and business leaders."

She says they value the use of AI to create a better world-a vision shared by Liu Qingfeng, chairman of China's leading information-technology company, iFlytek.