Published: 4:45pm, 21 Nov, 2017 Updated: 2:52pm, 25 Sep, 2018
Google , Yahoo Group , Tencent Holdings and others have been called on by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology to spearhead the development of new artificial intelligence ( AI ) technologies and create open innovation platforms . Specifically , Baidu will focus on self - driving cars , Alibaba 's cloud computing unit will explore AI solutions for urban life , Tencent will examine computer vision for medical diagnosis and iFlyTek will focus on voice intelligence . While supporters have praised the open - source nature of the initiative , some have questioned the elevation of big firms as " national leaders " , claiming smaller start - ups will be crowded out .