Baidu Hires Former Google Artificial Intelligence Chief
China's top search engine Baidu Inc has hired Google Inc's former artificial intelligence (AI) chief Andrew Ng to spearhead research in a field that promises to show internet companies how to maximise use of their vast data trove.
Baidu said on Friday it has opened a new AI lab in Silicon Valley to complement its Deep Learning Lab and Big Data Lab in Beijing, both of which will also be headed by Mr Ng.
The news was announced at Baidu's newly opened research complex in Sunnyvale, California, located near the Mountain View headquarters of Google, where Mr Ng had founded and led an elite Deep Learning team in 2011.
Deep Learning refers to research that enables machines to simulate brain functions and process massive amounts of data.
Companies including Google, Facebook Inc and Microsoft Corp have pursued artificial intelligence to analyse the data they collect and improve computers' ability to recognise faces, objects or learn languages.
Google, the US web search leader, has deemed AI research one of its own top priorities and spent $400 million in January to acquire a major British AI firm.
Former Stanford University computer science professor Mr Ng co-founded online learning start-up Coursera after he left Google.
On Friday, Baidu chief executive Robin Li hailed Mr Ng as the "ideal individual to lead our research efforts as we enter an era where AI plays an increasingly pronounced role".
Baidu is just one of several Chinese internet companies that have ramped up their hiring and acquisitions in Silicon Valley to compete toe-to-toe with the US technology leaders.
Mr Ng's project at Google attracted international attention in 2012 when its "neural network" of 16,000 computers, nicknamed the Google Brain, taught itself how to spot a cat after processing thousands of images of cats. Ng said his algorithms were based on theories of how the human brain learns.
Copyright @ Thomson Reuters 2014
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
-
Joining The Dots | Dark Skies, Steady Diya: Why Hope Holds This Diwali
With war, a weak rupee and foreign outflows weighing on sentiment, policymakers at the NDTV World Summit and market veterans at NDTV Profit Ignite: Diwali Edition offered the same advice: stay invested and filter out the noise.
-
The Curious Case of Equitas Small Finance Bank And A CEO Who Quit For Stock
PN Vasudevan believes persistent investor concerns over a perceived conflict of interest had become a governance overhang on Equitas Small Finance Bank's stock, even as the lender improved profitability and asset quality.
-
Talking Points This Week: AI Cash Burn, A Tiger Comeback And An India That Still Finds Its Own Path
India is not immune to higher oil or tighter global liquidity, yet its earnings base is broader, its domestic policy levers are still available.
-
Foreign Investors Own Half Of HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. An LTCG Cut Could Matter Most Here
Foreign portfolio investors have US$115 billion parked in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank. If the government cuts long-term capital gains tax, Jefferies says returning foreign money could land here first.
-
'Never Seen This Level Of Negativity': Sandeep Tandon Says The Next Rally May Be Closer Than You Think
Veteran investor Sandeep Tandon says foreign selling is easing, large-caps are due a comeback and mid-caps are crowded, while he turns positive on gold, power and pharma this Diwali.
