AI City Challenge competition — what solutions for cities did the winners propose?

[zakiyatasnim]

The AI ​​City Challenge was created four years ago to encourage the development of artificial intelligence for real-world urban scenarios. In the first competitions, American teams took the top spots, but last year Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Baidu beat out competitors from 40 countries.



The technologies presented are designed to improve greece number data people's lives, but some experts believe that they can become a dangerous tool for surveillance of citizens.

Chinese teams took prize positions in all five categories, including TikTok owner ByteDance, which came second in the competition for detecting car accidents on highways.

All of this has been made possible by years of investment by the Chinese government in the sector. By some estimates, China is home to half of the world’s smart cities. The proliferation of advanced computing systems, cameras, and sensors using 5G wireless connections is accelerating the development of innovative surveillance systems.

The technologies presented at these competitions will also be useful for city planners. Counting the number of cars on the road allows engineers to determine the resources needed to operate and maintain roads and bridges.

In one of the AI ​​City Challenges, participants were asked to identify cars in videos. This year, for the first time, the descriptions were formulated quite explicitly, for example, “a blue jeep is driving on a winding road behind a red pickup truck.”

China and the United States are currently the leading exporters of digital technologies. Last month, the Biden administration expanded the blacklist of Chinese companies initiated by Donald Trump. Now, nearly 60 organizations cannot receive investments from American funds.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate recently passed the Competition and Innovation Act, which provides for multibillion-dollar investments in microchips, artificial intelligence, and secure supply chains. The law also includes provisions for smart city investments, including expanding partnerships in this area with Southeast Asian countries (excluding China).