AI plays vital role in education equity: Industry leader

Advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, are making high-quality education accessible for students across the nation, according to an industry player. 

Liu Chang, founder and CEO of 17Edtech, a leading online education startup, told China Daily in an interview that AI plays a vital role in promoting the country's education equity. 

"AI is totally changing how students learn and how teachers teach in public schools and is making education more equal for individuals," he said. 

He spoke at the 2018 National Basic Education Forum, where he delivered a theme speech on how to make learning a good experience. 

Liu's comments came after China called for more effort to develop the new generation of AI, to inject a fresh driving force into the country's high-quality economic growth. 

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that accelerating the development of new-generation AI is a strategic issue, key for China to seize the opportunities in the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation. 

AI should be used in areas such as education, health, sports, housing and transportation, Xi noted. 

The country aims to grow the country's core AI industries to over 150 billion yuan ($22.15 billion) by 2020, 400 billion yuan by 2025, and 1 trillion yuan by 2030.

"As an innovative online education company, 17Edtech is trying to make homework online and personalized," Liu said.