首部高中AI教材正式出炉

China has recently published its first artificial intelligence (AI) textbook for high school students, following a plan by central government last year to include AI courses in primary and secondary school.

随着去年中央政府发布了中小学应涵盖人工智能学科计划后，近期，国内发行了适用于高中生的首版人工智能教科书。

Under the joint efforts by the research center for MOOC at East China Normal University and AI startup SenseTime Group, the nine-chapter textbook, named Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence, was written by eminent scholars from well-known schools nationwide, Xinhua reported on Sunday.

据新华社周日的报道，在华东师范大学MOOC研究中心和人工智能初创企业SenseTime集团的共同努力下，由来自全国知名学校的知名学者共同编纂完成这本名为“人工智能基础”的教科书。(共九章内容)

It includes the history of AI and how the technology can be applied in areas such as facial recognition, auto driving and public security.

这本书介绍了人工智能的发展历史，以及人工智能技术在人脸识别、自动驾驶和公共安全等领域的应用。

The textbook focuses not only on basics of AI, also on practical use of AI in daily life, said Chen Yukun, a professor at East China Normal University, who is also a contributor to the book.

“这本教科书不仅关注于人工智能的基础知识，还聚焦了人工智能在日常生活中的实际应用，”本书作者之一华东师范大学教授陈玉坤说。

At present, about 40 high schools across the country have joined the first batch of AI high education pilot program, by introducing the textbook in curriculum.

目前，全国约有40所高中在课程中引入该教材，参加了第一批人工智能高等教育试点项目。

The AI sector is facing a talent shortage globally. The publication of the book is a breakthrough as it takes AI technology out of the ’ivory tower’ and makes it part of high school learning, said Lin Dahua, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

“人工智能领域正面临全球人才短缺的问题。这本书的出版是一个突破，因为它把人工智能技术从‘象牙塔’中拿出来，使之成为高中学习的一部分，”香港中文大学教授林达华(音)说。

As early as 2016, the governments had estimated that demand for AI professionals may surge to 5 million in the coming years.

早在2016年，各政府就已估计，在今后几年我们对人工智能专业人员的需求可能会激增到500万。

Many industries in the future will benefit from AI technology, so the aim of the related courses should be to let students learn the basic idea and methods of AI, Lin said.

林达华说：“未来许多行业都将受益于人工智能技术，因此与之相关课程的目标应该是让学生学习人工智能的基本理念和方法。”

China has made significant progress in technological research and development in recent years. According to a report released by US-based venture capital database CB Insights in March, China has for the first time surpassed the United States in equity funding to AI startups.

近年来，中国在技术研究和开发方面取得了重大进展。根据美国风险投资数据库CB Insight 3月份发布的一份报告称，中国首次在人工智能初创企业提供股权融资方面超过美国。