The country is dependent on overseas high-end scientific instruments, crimping use of artificial intelligence, researcher says
Advanced equipment such as mass spectrometers was essential for generating the high-quality experimental data needed to develop, validate and improve advanced scientific models, Weinan E, a professor at Peking University’s mathematical sciences school, said at the “AI for Science” conference in Shanghai last week.
“Without domestically developed precision instruments, it becomes difficult to obtain first-hand, high-quality experimental data, leaving AI ‘like cooking without rice’,” E said, according to Shanghai-based news outlet The Paper last week.
E, who is also a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, proposed the concept of “AI for Science” in 2018 as a new approach to research.
And to get the best data, researchers need the best equipment.