As the world’s top weiqi (go) player Ke Jie attempts to find AlphaGo's weakness during a man-against-machine three-game clash in Wuzhen, east China’s Zhejiang Province, the country’s artificial intelligence (AI) experts have weighed in on the technological field. 

The Future of AI Forum in Wuzhen /CGTN Photo

Chinese start-ups have made some achievements in the application of AI technology. Lin Yili, vice president of product at digital lifestyle company Chumenwenwen said, the firm wants to cover all scenarios in everyday life - from work, the home and even in the car.

Lin Yili, vice president of product at digital lifestyle company Chumenwenwen. /geekpark.net

To achieve such a goal, Chumenwenwen has created many smart devices, including China's second best-selling smartwatch, the Ticwatch.

Another creation is Liulishuo (which translates literally to “speak fluently”), a mobile app which aims to speed up learning English. 

Its founder Wang Li told The Future of Go Summit in Wuzhen that his company would succeed because language education is a solid growing point in China, and his app can provide personalized services thanks to the help of AI.

'Long way to go'

AlphaGo's creators also shared their thoughts on the development of AI at the summit.

Demis Hassabis, leader of the AlphaGo team, told reporters that the AI program is still evolving. Future versions of the neural network will require less data and time to get itself trained.

Demis Hassabis, leader of the AlphaGo team. /CGTN Photo

Although AlphaGo demonstrates great power at weiqi, it has a "long way to go" before becoming an AI assistant like the ones in science fiction.

With an eye on the future, Hassabis said AlphaGo’s algorithm can also be used for general purposes, but related work on this is still in the initial stages.