(Yicai) July 5 -- China urgently needs to step up fundamental innovation in artificial intelligence so as to push ahead of competitors in the field, according to the president of one of the country’s leading academic institutions.

The demand for computing power and energy in the AI sector is surging, Ding Kuiling, president of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Yicai yesterday.

The key to changing this unsustainable development path is to focus on cultivating innovative leaders in underlying AI technologies, Ding said in an interview on the sidelines of the plenary session of this year’s World Artificial Intelligence Conference and the High-Level Conference on Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence held in Shanghai.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University recently set up an AI Institute and will launch a bachelor's degree in AI this year, with plans to give qualified undergraduate students university and postgraduate education, Ding noted.

The institute will focus on cultivating top innovative talent willing to change and capable of changing the AI industry, enabling them to learn skills to lead the sector's development rather than just following in the footsteps of others.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev