网易's Artificial Intelligence Division Exposed: Practical Applications Over Basic Research
NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) has been quietly developing several artificial intelligence products, with multiple technologies beginning to see commercialization. Their partners include the U.S.-based 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, as well as numerous domestic and international appliance and furniture brands.
At the NetEase Cloud Innovation Conference held in Hangzhou on July 13th, the NetEase AI Division booth was unveiled in a low-key manner, showcasing products like "Netease Insight," which can convert any surface into a screen for augmented reality interactive projection modules; "NetEase Video"; "NetEase Porter," an intelligent chatbot development platform; "NetEase Smart+", an open platform; and many others.
According to reports, NetEase's artificial intelligence business department is located in Hangzhou, focusing on deep learning, voice processing, computer vision, pattern recognition, human-computer interaction, heterogeneous computing, and other technical fields. They aim to explore the next generation of user interaction forms.
Wang Yuan, the Executive Dean of NetEase's Hangzhou Research Institute, revealed that the artificial intelligence division can trace its origins back to 2012 at the earliest. Initially, it focused on facial recognition, applying this technology to NetEase's email service, making it the first in China to support face recognition login. In 2016, the company upgraded its brand and expanded its artificial intelligence services across all of NetEase's group products. Currently, the team includes over 100 talents, including many PhDs who have returned from studying abroad, and the team is rapidly growing.
A source within NetEase mentioned that the artificial intelligence division would be separated from the Hangzhou Research Institute of NetEase to become a business division.
At present, giants like Alibaba and Tencent have established artificial intelligence labs and have recruited numerous technical experts from Microsoft and Amazon's Seattle headquarters. Alibaba recently released a smart speaker that serves as a voice-intelligence entry-level product.
Wang Yuan stated that NetEase will not focus on basic research in artificial intelligence but will concentrate on the practical application of technology and its integration into business scenarios. Since NetEase's largest revenue comes from gaming, they will study how to apply artificial intelligence in games.
"Like Google's AlphaGo, I think it lacks commercial value. We don't need to pursue something like that," said Wang Yuan.
Reports indicate that NetEase currently has several applications in the field of deep learning:
Firstly, in the area of content security, it applies to image identification, text recognition, and video filtering.
Secondly, in smart customer service, smart customer service robots can answer 86% of questions on average, leaving manual customer service to handle only 14%. In 2016, robots responded to over one billion questions, saving customers over $100 million in costs.
Thirdly, there is NetEase's "Porter." This unified platform for dialogue robots can be applied to many scenarios in the future. For instance, NetEase Cloud's education solution allows users to configure robots on the Bode platform and access a wealth of high-quality platform content and services (such as music, cloud classrooms, e-commerce, emails, news, etc.), giving products dialogue intelligence.
Additionally, in the field of augmented reality (AR), there are two main applications:
The first is NetEase's "Insight." It adds AR technology to marketing models like print and video ads. Many international brands like Coca-Cola, Spotify, and BBC have adopted AR to enhance user experience. NetEase independently developed the AR engine and implemented effects based on three-dimensional physical presentations.
Shangguan Fuhao, the product manager of NetEase's Insight, told Xinhua News that one case involved a collaboration with Alien, where the "different" virtual body came to the real world and jumped over the network's "Pure Land Bliss" from your side. Another case involves cooperation with a well-known domestic home appliance listed company. Consumers place the camera on the gas stove and other products, allowing them to see the internal structure and learn more about the product before purchasing.
Through NetEase's vision, you can virtually make a cake on the table.
The second is NetEase's "Shadow." Based on the new scene of projection interaction, a screen can be projected onto any plane, suitable for smart kitchens and interactive teaching.
The rapid development of artificial intelligence and the accumulation of massive data also bring many application scenarios to cloud computing. "Cloud computing should not just be a technical term for selling computer rooms, servers, and computing power," said Wang Yuan.
On the same day, NetEase's cloud computing big data brand "NetEase Cloud" announced development data for the past two years: By the end of June, NetEase Cloud had served 350,000 corporate customers and achieved 700 million end-user coverage.
NetEase Cloud announced deep cooperation with Inspur and Intel. It is reported that Inspur and NetEase will carry out strategic cooperation in the three major areas of cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence.
Wang Hongli, Vice President of Inspur Group, told Xinhua News that although cloud computing companies like Alibaba Cloud and Tencent Cloud are not yet large-scale products, NetEase Cloud Music, NetEase Koala Haihua, and many other NetEase products are small and beautiful, with a unique profit model. She is optimistic about NetEase's potential in the capital market and long-term technological accumulation. "Inspur and NetEase cooperated 10 years ago. NetEase has accumulated great technical capabilities in big data and distributed storage. The only challenge is how to integrate them, package them, integrate hardware and software, and adopt a more open mindset."
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