Jack Ma and Elon Musk — two of the world’s most prominent tech tycoons — faced off to discuss all things artificial intelligence, kicking off a global AI conference Thursday.

Speaking at the 2019 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, the chairman of Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba and the CEO of Tesla shared their views on the growing use of AI as it transforms the global industrial and service sectors. Musk said the biggest challenge facing AI research is a lack of imagination — and that it should have developed even faster. Meanwhile, Ma said that, although it’s difficult to predict the future of AI, people should be more confident about its applications, which shouldn’t be perceived as a threat.

The three-day conference has attracted hundreds of experts from around the world. More than 300 enterprises are slated to showcase their products and services, including smartphones, 5G telecom networks, and “internet of things” devices. More than 70 agreements on AI and 5G programs are expected to be signed during the conference, including a plan for a Huawei 5G innovation center in the city’s Pudong New Area. (Image: The Paper)