Could AI Technology Become a Utility Like Gas or Electricity? ZTE's AI for All Strategy

CGTN Europe spoke to ZTE VP Summer Chen.

Transcript

00:00What if AI technology was just another utility, as much a part of our lives as gas, electricity

00:12or water? That's the future ZTE envisions. Our correspondent Alex Brazer spoke to the

00:18tech giant's vice president, Summer Chen, about the company's AI for all strategy.

00:23AI is a kind of a new domain everywhere you will enjoy this. But AI, before AI to be a

00:33quite a kind of service like electricity, like gas, like power, it should be that's the

00:43enough infrastructure because people need to get the capability to access the AI. So

00:52that's why we are more put our resource, our innovation to help local operators, the

01:00cloud service provider to build their AI infrastructures. At the same time, we are

01:07innovated in AI devices. This means everyone or each family, they can get this

01:16kind of chance to access AI uses. So this means AI for all, not for the enterprise, also for

01:27the people or for the every home or family, they can access the AI easily.

01:36There's a lot of debate over the need for regulation in the AI sector versus the need for unimpeded

01:44innovation. Where does ZTE stand on this?

01:48We think AI is a kind of a very serious domain. So people will carefully, not just the technical

01:57side, the regulation is needed. It's not just for one company's effort, it's in it, the whole industry

02:06together. So we are open for this kind of collaboration with our partners for the ASIC globally.

02:14How do you lower that carbon footprint of the tech infrastructure and particularly how do you

02:21navigate those challenges with energy and artificial intelligence?

02:24Actually, ZTE are more focused on the new kind of energy supplying innovation. For example,

02:33in Africa, because they have a very poor power supply condition, we design a new kind of solution like

02:43wind, solar power, this kind of solution with our base station to the growing power supply.

02:52So we give them the chance to light their lamp, to give them a kind of chance to access the internet and open digital society.

03:06Where in the world are you focusing on for growth potential?

03:10The Middle East, the Asia and Latin America and Africa, we think in the next five years is our

03:20the main overseas market we are more focused on. Because in these areas, the government or local

03:28digital transformation is happening to be accelerated. And the government leads digital transformation is

03:38also a big chance for us. And also in this area, some of the network or some of the communication

03:47requirements will still be strengthened. So we think this area will be a big market for us.

03:55The European Commission has recommended member states ban ZTE and Huawei from networks. Is that any sort of a concern?

04:02Actually, for overseas markets, we facing some challenges. I think this is a kind of enterprise. When

04:12do you go to the overseas is facing this kind of issue. But for us, our target, our more efforts on the

04:21innovation for the tech because tech is for the people.