The 2021 5G Intelligent Audiovisual Conference (GIAC), which kicked off in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong province on Oct. 12, showcased China’s progress in digital construction and demonstrated how digital technologies have been integrated into people’s production and life by providing new ideas, business forms and models, bringing about broad and profound influence.
In the age of digital communication, digital transformation calls for changes to the ways we think.
Advancing the construction of a digital China requires giving full play to intelligent audiovisual products and services and employing a digital way of thinking in government, business, service and other sectors, as well as promoting intelligent audiovisual products in production, everyday life and environments so that various parties can form innovative synergies and create a friendly atmosphere for the country’s digital construction, said Cui Shixin, deputy editor-in-chief of People’s Daily, at the conference.
Information communications should be guided by moral values and with the exchange of views mirroring popular opinions, pointed out Xie Dengke, an official with the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission of China, at the conference, who believes it is necessary to use advanced technologies as a new engine to create a new realm guided by values and expand a new area for serving people.
The deeper integration of the real economy and the digital economy has pushed traditional industries ever-faster towards intelligent development.
Intelligent audiovisual devices are turning audio and visual senses from our “ears and eyes” into “auxiliary brains” that can help mankind make better decisions and take action, said Ye Zhenzhen, president of People’s Daily Online, at the 2021 GIAC.
Ye, also secretary of the Communist Party of China committee for People’s Daily Online, believes that the incredible future prospects for the intelligent audiovisual industry will involve the full interaction and dialogue between people and people, things and things, as well as people and things.
Meng Pu, chairman of Qualcomm China, paid great attention to the topic of 5G at the conference, and considered 5G development to be a major driver for extended reality (XR), an umbrella term that covers virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR).
Noting that 5G is thriving in China, Meng pointed out that domestic industrial chains are actively embracing the industry and creating new 5G application scenarios and business formats.
Convinced that AI makes innovation easier and content more lifelike, Ping Xiaoli, vice president of Baidu, cited an example at the conference of the world’s first AI host built by the company and the Chinese media platform The Paper, which can host news shows whenever and wherever needed and pass on information in a timely manner.
Baidu has also vigorously advanced text-to-video technology to enable content creators to convert their text into videos and make their content more acceptable to users, Ping added.
As of December 2020, the number of online audiovisual users in China totalled 944 million, an increase of 43.21 million from June that year and representing 95.4 percent of all netizens, according to a report released by an institute under People’s Daily Online on Oct. 12.
Intelligent audiovisual industry bases have sprung up in many regions, which has facilitated the development of the industry. With the implementation of 5G, AI, VR and other technologies, smart audiovisual devices have been further integrated with public services, e-commerce, cultural tourism, education, medical care, sports and other industries, reshaping the industrial chain and continuously promoting industry transformation and reform.