Baidu CEO Qi Lu, discussed the companies' AI technologies at CES 2018. recognition (the core of many smart home systems) a year before any Western firm achieved that benchmark. ENTHUSIASM FOR AI GROWS IN CHINA Because of the government and corporate support, Chinese are by far the most optimistic about AI's ability to "create jobs and improve lives." In a 10-country poll, Dentsu Aegis Network (a UK digital marketing firm) found that 65 percent of respondents in China have faith that AI will help their lives, compared to 23 percent in the U.S. and 18 percent in Germany. The global average was 29 percent, suggesting that Chinese citizens are more than twice as upbeat about AI's potential as the world at large. China's vision for AI dominance is resonating with industry watchers. In its report about the impact of AI on global gross domestic product, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) predicts that China's AI efforts will lead the world by 2030. C TA . t e c h / i 3 MAY/JUNE 2018 21http://cta.tech/i3