Baidu Inc., the Chinese search giant that is often known as the "Google of China" has set a new dream. By setting up a new place in Google's backyard by investing $300 million in a new research-and-development center in Silicon Valley. The place that will employ 200 professionals in their fields, will be led by Andrew Ng, the head of Standford University's artificial intelligence that has helped Google in setting up its artificial intelligence efforts.
"Chinese companies are starting to dream," said early investor in Baidu. The Chinese search giant that was founded in 2000 by Chinese entrepreneurs Robin Li and Eric Xu, is growing its efforts to change the world with artificial intelligence, by aiming to become big enough to become a powerhouse capable to compete with the likes of Google.
The move is a big ambition for Baidu. But as the largest internet company in China, Baidu has the wits, will and the resources, thus it's potential for it to be a competitor for the western tech giants.
"There has been this old stereotype that other countries copy U.S. technology," said Ng in an interview, "[but] there's tons of stuff that Baidu has done that just isn't anywhere else in the world."
China's economy is growing fast, notably because the country is able to create a "copy" of a legitimate product, and sell it a lot cheaper. But China's internet companies have grown to be some of the largest internet companies in the world, in part because the Chinese government blocks foreign-based services such as Facebook and Twitter. Chinese companies' users are still mostly located in China, but they are increasingly active in Silicon Valley through investments and recruitment initiatives.
Alibaba Group, Tencent Holdings and Xiaomi are some of the examples of how powerful and influential the Chinese can be in the tech industry. what China can do. And as a step forward in the industry, Baidu's new lab will focus on the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning, a field that has recently drawn investment from the likes of Google, Facebook and Microsoft.
Deep learning is a branch of AI, in which computer scientists attempt to simulate the human brain through computers. This is hoped to make machines "see" and "learn" by themselves with less to no human aid.
Despite all of AI's potential, computer is still a computer. Humans had never created something more advanced than a "tiny brain", let alone a human brain. Computer brains are primitive. A leading academic in the field, Yohsua Bengio, of the University of Montreal, said researchers are still able to build only "very tiny brains, like an insect brain."
Ng acknowledged this, but he said that advances are happening quickly. "There is a hypothesis that a lot of human intelligence is due to one learning algorithm," he said. "No one knows what the right algorithm is, but it gives us hope that if we can discover some crude approximation of whatever this algorithm is and implement it on a computer, that can help us make a lot of progress."
No one can predict how the future will be. But by judging how fast the tech industry is growing, the future of AI remains dark with many possibilities.
Baidu already has a deep learning center in Beijing. The technology has helped the company in refining how it target ads on its site, and develop its own speech-recognition software. Baidu's AI is also able to identify objects taken from a smartphone's camera. The technology is still under heavy development to predict tourist turnout at hotspots in China based on date, weather, and other factors.
With Baidu dreaming big, and with Andrew Ng on its side, Baidu is certain that one day it can turn its dreams into reality. Baidu would give Ng more resource than what he had at Stanford, and the ability to assemble larger teams that could focus on specific projects. Adam Coates, another Stanford artificial-intelligence researcher, is also joining him at Baidu.
"The philosophy of the lab will be to have a small number of projects with strong leaders," said Ng.
Copy or Innovation
The Chinese may have copied anything they can put their hands on, but that doesn't limit their potential in creating something new.
Baidu doesn't compete directly with Google since California-based company faces significant blocks in China. But the two companies compete for what people call "talents".
Often referred to as the "Google of China," Baidu is known for unashamedly copying Google's winning tactics in China where it is the dominant search engine and where Google is banned. Even Baidu's homepage mirrors Google's.
China that in many places in the world, is said to be a copycat, defended itself. Despite their products are similar in many ways, they say that the things they make are called "micro-innovations." The concept is not to create revolutionary thing, but to tweak user experience to existing products. So what micro-innovation really means is realistically modifying business model, improving product's functionality, or even beautifying a user interface. Since there is no saying how an idea of an innovation doesn't come from an influence somewhere, the gap between copier and innovator is narrowing.
But as the company dreams bigger, that isn't enough. To be able to compete globally and in the emerging markets, Baidu needs to find an identity quickly.
Baidu first announced its bigger plans for AI in May 2014 when it announced the hire of Google's Andrew Ng. Widely regarded as a leading figure in AI, Ng is expected to bring identity to Baidu. And with his experience and knowledge, he can lead Baidu to play a significant role in AI.
Baidu is tempting to create a software that can "in a real sense, learn on its own." This has highlight Baidu's ambition to be a step forward from Google and become the leader in deep learning.
Baidu Chief Executive Robin Li said Ng as the "ideal individual to lead our research efforts as we enter an era where AI plays an increasingly pronounced role."
But Ng won't stop just there at deep learning. With Baidu, Ng aims to help the company stands out in many other aspects. Heading up all Baidu research, Ng aims to help Baidu stand out in many aspects.
With China's ability to make almost anything, and with the growing number of affordable smartphones and the proliferation wireless internet. Baidu thinks its experience is an advantage in both China and the emerging markets.