But scientists there wonder whether the proposed 55-hectare AI park, in the Mentougou district 30 kilometres away from the city centre, will be able to attract enough researchers. The government wants it to house 400 companies that will make an estimated 50 billion yuan a year developing products and services in cloud computing, big data, biorecognition and deep learning. “I don't see any top talent willing to go to work and live there,” says a scientist working at an AI start-up in Beijing, who asked to remain anonymous because the government is sensitive to criticism.
Sourcing accomplished AI researchers is a problem that’s confronting AI-related companies and research centres around the world. “The future [of AI] is going to be a battle for data and for talent,” says David Wipf, lead researcher at Microsoft Research in Beijing.
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