The opening ceremony of the 2020 BAAI Conference was held via video link on the morning of June 21. Organized by Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI), the event was addressed by Li Meng, China's Vice Minister of Science and Technology, and Yin Yong, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Vice Mayor of Beijing. It brought together the world's top experts in artificial intelligence and representatives of relevant international organizations, and about 150,000 people watched it online.

Yin Yong said that the raging pandemic worldwide has highlighted the importance of international exchanges and cooperation in the field of science and technology. Artificial intelligence has played an important role in COVID-19 response. As a national center for scientific and technological innovation, Beijing has identified artificial intelligence as one of the key areas of technological innovation and industrial development. Going forward, the city will introduce a host of talent, research, funding, and application policies to accelerate the growth of artificial intelligence.

The first BAAI Conference was held in 2019, and this year marks its second edition. Scheduled to last four days, it will be presented online throughout the whole process because of the global pandemic. Themed “the Next Decade of AI”, the conference is expected to bring together five Turing Award winners and hundreds of top experts in the field of artificial intelligence to discuss trends in the next decade through 19 thematic forums. It is intended to promote international exchanges and cooperation in this field, give play to the role of AI in fighting COVID-19, and create great synergies for this global fight.