Shanghai will host what organizers describe as the largest edition of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) since its 2018 launch, bringing together more than 1,100 companies, researchers, policymakers and industry leaders from July 17 to 20. The event combines a vast exhibition, hundreds of product launches and a high-level forum on global AI governance at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center.
## World Artificial Intelligence Conference: scale and agenda
The WAIC exhibition will occupy over 100,000 square meters and showcase more than 3,000 AI products and technologies, alongside more than 300 global product launches. Organizers say the program includes over 140 forums covering research, industrial applications and international governance. Exhibits will highlight advances in foundation models, AI chips, intelligent computing infrastructure, robotics, autonomous systems, enterprise AI and health-care applications.
Major Chinese technology firms expected to participate include Huawei, Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, SenseTime, iFlytek, MiniMax, Zhipu AI and Unitree Robotics; international companies and research institutions are also slated to attend.
## Governance in focus: the High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance
WAIC has increasingly become a platform for debates on how governments should regulate more capable AI systems while preserving innovation and international cooperation. The conference’s High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance will convene government officials, international organizations, researchers and technology executives to discuss AI safety, standards, regulation and cooperation.
Speakers at the event stress that international collaboration must be balanced with national control. Ann Cuisia, founder and CEO of TraXion Tech, argued that “technological sovereignty does not mean technological isolation,” adding that countries should apply consistent governance principles to all AI technologies: “Can we audit it? Can we control our data?
