On July 6, 2021, final Competition of Best Practices of Applied Algorithms (BPAA) hosted by the World Artificial Intelligence Conference Organizing Committee Office was grandly held at the Courtyard Suning Global Hotel in Putuo District, Shanghai. More than 30 leaders, guests, judges, and 50 demonstration teams of BPAA participated in the grand event. The top ten algorithm projects of the five tracks of public, finance, medical, industry, and commerce were competed on the track and the final selection was made. "TOP 3 List of First Final Competition of Best Practices of Applied Algorithms (BPAA) Five Tracks" was released by the BPAA Preparatory Group.

Representatives attending the event, are Zhang Ying, Deputy Director of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology, Xu Shujie, Deputy Governor of Shanghai Putuo District People’s Government, Shanghai Putuo District Science and Technology Committee, Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Industry Association, Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Standardization Technical Committee, representative of Shanghai Tiandi Software Entrepreneurship Park, as well as judges of BPAA, Yu Youcheng, Deputy Secretary-general of the Chinese Society for Artificial Intelligence, Song Haitao, General Manager and Executive Dean of the Shanghai Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Founder & CEO of Guangzhou Xiaoyang Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., Huang Huiyan, Executive Vice President of Chinese Association of German Computer Scholars, and Xuan Xiaohua, founder and chairman of Fraplus Computing.

Photo: The opening of final Competition of Best Practices of Applied Algorithms (BPAA)

As one the four major brand events of World Artificial Intelligence Conference, the first applied algorithm demonstration practice model BPAA focused on "promoting algorithm industrialization", with "collecting international algorithm resources, disseminating algorithm practice, cultivating algorithm model teams, building algorithm industry ecology, and creating a global algorithm highland" as its core goal. As the birthplace of BPAA, Shanghai is a pioneer in the of industrialization algorithms in the country, with high degree, strength and frontier in the industrialization of algorithms.

Zhang Ying, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology, stated in her speech, that artificial intelligence is one of the three leading industries in Shanghai to implement national strategic deployment and focus on development. Shanghai is stepping up its efforts to become artificial intelligence "Shanghai Highland" and a world-class artificial intelligence, and moving towards as an industrial cluster. In the process of comprehensively advancing the digital transformation of the city, Shanghai will give full play to the driving and enabling role of artificial intelligence, accelerate the realization of "economic transformation, lifestyle transformation, and governance transformation concepts", and build an international digital capital with its world influence. Computing power, computing capacity (data), and algorithms are the three basic elements for the development of artificial intelligence. At present, in terms of computing power, smart chip industry in Shanghai and computing power platform are in a leading position in China; in terms of data, Shanghai has opened nearly 1 billion public data, forming a comprehensive and multi-level public data open ecosystem. This year, on the basis of full investigation and research in the early stage, Shanghai is ready to implement an algorithm innovation action plan, implement a strategic breakthrough in the element of algorithm, and consolidate the first-mover advantage of the artificial intelligence "Shanghai Highland". In the implement plan of algorithm innovation, its promotion is an important link. Shanghai will make breakthroughs in a number of key algorithms in key areas such as government services, automatic driving, industry, medical care and finance, so as to promote the deepening of algorithm industry, and form an algorithm industry ecology, in the needs of the city's digital transformation. In this context, the first application algorithm practice demonstration BPAA came into being. It is expected that, via BPAA the advance resources are gathered in the global algorithm field, so as to create a professional, open, and international algorithm practice display and exchange platform in a brand-new algorithm industry ecological model. In the future, Shanghai will also actively encourage and promote high-quality algorithm projects that stand out in the BPAA, promote algorithm research and development, innovation and achievement transformation, and provide sufficient sources for algorithm talents to play a better role.

Photo: Zhang Ying, Deputy Director of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology

According to reports, the first best practices of applied algorithm BPAA, as one of the four major brand events of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, is an important exploration of the conference in the field of artificial intelligence algorithms. The first competition was held in Putuo, demonstrated the determination and action power of Putuo District in the construction of digital transformation. It is reported that since this year, Putuo District has fully connected with the national “cloud use data to empower intelligence” action and the requirements of a new generation of “Digital Shanghai”, fully promote the transformation and upgrading of digital smart city, and create a number of highlands with Putuo characteristics such as network security and digital life. From January to May this year, the district intelligent software industry achieved a district tax of 346 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32.40%, accounting for 8.54% of the district tax, showing a strong momentum of development. By the end of the "14th Five-Year Plan", the scale of intelligent software industry in Putuo District is expected to exceed 70 billion, emerge to 3 to 5 leading companies in the field of digital economy, and form more than 5 industrial bases, including intelligent software, R&D services, technology finance, and life and health. The major industries emerged will reach the scale of pillar industries.

In this BPAA, a model of applied algorithm practice, many algorithm projects and talent teams have emerged. Among them, the top outstanding algorithm projects will receive Shanghai's generous entrepreneurial support policies.

At the event, Li Wenbo, Secretary and Director of the Party Committee of the Putuo District Science and Technology Committee, introduced the policy system of "3+5+X" of Putuo District, and focused on the impact of special policies on scientific and technological innovation on R&D platforms, enterprise development, carrier construction, intellectual property rights, and brands. In addition to the five aspects of support, technology companies settled in Putuo will be able to receive support covering the construction of technology research and development platform, technology enterprise development, technology innovation construction, intellectual property funding awards, brand trademark awards, etc. In addition, the special policies for intelligent software aim at popular directions such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, online games, industrial Internet, information security, and intelligent manufacturing robots in the fields of digitization, networking, and intelligence. Achievements display and the growth of the entire chain of ecological creation are given various grants and rewards to fully encourage industry-university-research cooperation and the development of industrial clusters.

Photo: Li Wenbo, Director of the Science and Technology Committee of Putuo District, Shanghai

The first application algorithm practice model BPAA is aimed at international algorithm teams from the Yangtze River Delta, the Greater Bay Area, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Midwest, as well as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and other regions abroad. It has five major algorithm tracks: public, financial, medical, industrial, and commercial, extensively gathering algorithm practice projects and cutting-edge algorithm application talents. BPAA has officially launched the solicitation since April 1 this year. The competition lasted for more than three months, linking 228 entries from more than ten countries and regions around the world. All projects passed a strict competition system and certain evaluation criteria. After the preliminary rounds, regional roadshows and re-audits, the top ten algorithm projects of the five major tracks were selected and scored in the final competition of BPAA to be started on July 6. It will be placed on the final selection and release of the "TOP 3 List of First Final Competition of Best Practices of Applied Algorithms (BPAA) Five Tracks".

Photo: TOP 3 List of First Final Competition of Best Practices of Applied Algorithms (BPAA) Five Tracks

Yuan Yue, chairman of Dataway, pointed out in his speech that the TOP 10 Best Practices of Applied Algorithms (BPAA) Five Tracks not only enjoys breadth and precision, but also become fairly popular. They have covered areas with high frequency of algorithm application and rich content, presenting a broad picture of the diversified application of algorithms in different industries. After several rounds of learning and continuous training, many algorithms are not only efficient but also accurate. The high-precision algorithms have produced practical application results in a variety of scenarios, which also surprised the audience at the scene. With the implementation of various measures such as algorithm budget specialization, algorithm industrial policy diversification, construction of algorithm industry concentration area, and the launch of algorithm talent plan in Shanghai, its popularity as an algorithm "revolution" field is highlighted, and it is expected to initiatively form an algorithm industrialized cluster. At this time, the teams of BPAA participating in the grand event in Shanghai will become the co-builder and co-revolutionary of Shanghai to build the algorithm highland.

Regarding the performance of the final competition of BPAA, the level of the public algorithm track project after entering the final stage is of a very high level, and has been tested by the market, and has achieved good application effects, which is worthy of being promoted in a wider range in the future. Among them, in the process of COVID-19 prevention and control, it becomes the core needs of prevention and control departments at all levels, such as how to effectively analyze the trajectory of confirmed persons, analyze suspected contacts, risk groups, and risk locations through epidemic transmission models and population activity patterns. In the resumption of work and production in the later period of the epidemic, a powerful data and analysis system is needed to effectively understand the recovery of commercial passenger flow, the return rate of office buildings and the return of factory workers, and at the same time to analyze and prevent the recurrence risk of the epidemic in various places during the restoration of work and production. The project of "Precise Epidemic Prevention and Control Technology Based on Big Data in Space and Time-WAYZ AI Analysis Technology for Disease Control" has a strong timeliness and brings together massive amounts of data from all walks of life, including government data, to help prevent and control the epidemic. The resumption of work and production has made a huge contribution, which impressed the expert judges.

The projects of the financial algorithm competition targeted at specific and sharp problem scenarios, focusing on financial credit information management, risk identification and anti-fraud categories, which effects of the algorithms provided are relatively easy to test. For example, in the face of group fraud in the auto insurance industry, the project f "Association Analysis Anti-fraud Algorithm in Insurance Underwriting and Claims Scenarios", is showing a rapid development trend of specialization, small amount, and high frequency, and has developed an association analysis against group fraud. Algorithm has a high accuracy efficiency. These algorithm teams use different perspectives or apply different algorithm technologies to help financial institutions better identify, discover, manage and control risks. Some use unsupervised machine learning algorithms, some use graph algorithm technology, etc. There is a difference in the way of identification of different algorithm technologies, and it is this difference that forms the difference in the accuracy of the team's algorithm, but it all helps financial institutions to build a tighter multi-angle protection net.

Photo: Scene of the final competition of the first BPAA

In the medical algorithm competition, innovation and implementation of algorithm technologies based on federated learning, machine learning, and reinforcement learning are very common. Focusing on major human life and health propositions, the algorithm team has in-depth exploration in the predictive diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. For example, the project of "UKnow hemorrhagic stroke AI solution/UGuard for ischemic stroke AI solution" aims at the timeliness of screening and prevention, the consistency of diagnostic standards, the diversity of preoperative consumables planning, and the establishment of interventional pathways. Difficulties, accuracy of prognosis judgments and other difficulties and pain points in the screening, diagnosis and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases. Through deep learning, image processing, simulation and other algorithm technologies, combined with a series of clinical application research and multi-center application research, an intelligent diagnosis and treatment platform for stroke has finally been formed. The core algorithm theory foundation, scientific discovery verification and data samples of the project, have very high advancement and scientific theoretical support in the predictive diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of similar related pathological lesions, in a broad market foundation. It is expected that through BPAA, the in-depth integration of artificial intelligence medical care and general health applications can be promoted. It aims that the medical artificial intelligence algorithm and the practice of the entire application scenario can promote the rapid implementation of industrial application projects in improving human health and well-being. It’s expected that capital and deep concern for the social from all walks of life to medical artificial intelligence, brings to human health.

In the industrial algorithm practices, many companies began to find suitable scenarios in this field, and then carried out algorithm applications, reaching the world's leading level in some scenarios such as quality monitoring, industrial control, and optimization solvers. Among them, the project of "Research on Multi-legged Robot Layered Adaptive Planning Algorithm with Combination of Virtual and Reality" continues to develop in the robotics field. The upper layer is responsible for global semantic behavior planning, and the lower layer is responsible for local motion control planning. The algorithm technology learns in a simulation environment through a virtual-to-real reinforcement learning training framework and deploys strategies to physical robots. It has been applied in scenarios such as individual soldier collaboration, intelligent manufacturing, and technological Winter Olympics. The team's explanation of the project also refreshed the expert judges. The judges expressed their expectation to see more applications of this type of project in industry and industrial fields in the future. The use of artificial intelligence to improve the process and control in industrial production will produce huge benefits in the industrial field.

The commercial field has a wide range of application scenarios and is closely related to public life. Many highlights of algorithm innovation have emerged in the commercial algorithm track, such as the use of image recognition methods to define product fingerprint technology that is different from traditional hardware methods; such as, the use of machine autonomous learning capabilities, deep learning models, and headset voiceprint recognition in a hierarchical manner method. Whether it is scientific research institutions, start-up teams, or well-known companies such as Zhongtong and SF Express, a variety of innovative algorithm applications were invented in different fields. Among them, the project of "Industry-Leading Artificial Intelligence Document Translation Algorithm" project has built a "global language big data center", with more than tens of billions of large databases of bilingual translations, and improved algorithm learning capabilities through human-computer interaction applications, which can achieve equivalent high translation accuracy rate. The judges pointed out that the natural language processing technology that it uses is considered the crown jewel in the field of artificial intelligence. It is very difficult to achieve good results in the field of translation, especially in the vertical field of legal documents. The project was able to deliver accurate translation through machines, which was a very profound algorithm application.

Algorithms are the core industrial element for the development of artificial intelligence. The quality of algorithms directly affects the level of intelligence. Shanghai takes the lead in implementing algorithm industrialization in the country. Putuo District is highly enthusiastic about promoting algorithm industrialization, which attaches great importance to cutting-edge industries in its development and has sincerity in supporting the implementation of algorithm projects. It is expected that follow-up measures to promote algorithm industrialization in Shanghai After the launch, areas with first-mover advantages like the Putuo District will preemptively occupy the favorable position of the artificial intelligence "Shanghai Highland".