Recently, Tshilidzi Marwala, President of the United Nations University (UNU) and UN Under-Secretary-General, led a delegation to visit the Shanghai AI Laboratory. Accompanied by Song Haitao, President of the Shanghai AI Laboratory and Director-General of the Global Industrial Artificial Intelligence Alliance Excellence Center, the delegation conducted an inspection tour, during which the two sides engaged in in-depth exchanges on promoting the sustainable development of artificial intelligence (AI) and future education.
The delegation visited the Laboratory's exhibition hall and received briefings on a series of achievements in building "a new-generation high-end professional think tank, a R&D and industrial transformation innovation platform, and a financial-industrial and ecological innovation platform." They learned about the Laboratory's strategic layouts and innovative practices in AI technology R&D, industrial transformation, scenario implementation, ecosystem building, international cooperation, and talent cultivation.
Marwala spoke highly of the Laboratory's achievements. When visiting innovative developments such as general-purpose robots, vertical large models, smart medical devices and equipment, and virtual power plants, he noted that China's breakthroughs in AI application implementation provide important references for Global South countries. Facing the new landscape of intertwined opportunities and challenges brought by the global AI revolution, the United Nations and Chinese institutions share high strategic alignment in technological innovation and ethical governance. He expressed hope to collaborate with the Shanghai AI Laboratory to promote technology transfer and capacity-building for Southern countries under the framework of the Global Digital Compact, bridge the widening digital divide, and advance people-centered AI development.
At the conclusion of the event, Song Haitao and Marwala exchanged souvenirs as a token of gratitude.
Delegation members including Michael Baldock, Director of the UNU President’s Office; Huang Jingbo, Director of the UNU Macau Institute; and Dai Qian, Officer for Communication and External Relations of the UNU Macau Institute, were joined by accompanying experts: Jin Shi, Academician of the European Academy of Sciences, Dean of the Institute of Natural Sciences at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), and Leading Scientist of the Shanghai AI Laboratory; Feng Lirong, Principal of Shanghai Soong Ching Ling School; Wei Fanjie, General Manager of Shanghai Future Industry Fund; Cui Donghong, Researcher at the Shanghai Mental Health Center and Executive Director of the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Severe Mental Disorders; Ji Weidong, Senior Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences at SJTU, Dean of the Institute of Law and Society, and Director of the Japan Studies Center; Cui Wei, Director of the Office of International Cooperation at Shanghai University; and Jin Jiangbo, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Executive Dean of the School of Fine Arts at Shanghai University.
About the Shanghai AI Laboratory
Established by the Shanghai Municipal Government and SJTU in 2019 during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, the Shanghai AI Laboratory is an innovation platform dedicated to implementing major national strategies for AI development and deepening the innovation-driven development strategy. Undertaking the construction of Shanghai's AI R&D and transformation functional platform and shouldering the strategic mission of advancing the AI sector in Shanghai's science and technology innovation center, the Laboratory focuses on original innovation in underlying key AI technologies, breakthroughs in core application technologies, R&D industrial transformation, talent cultivation, and industrial ecosystem building. It has become a influential new-type research institution in China's AI landscape.