Increasing use of intelligent agents accelerates digital transformation, create new professions across industries

The increasing application of intelligent agents is playing an essential role in accelerating digital transformation in traditional industries, such as oil and gas, in China, while simultaneously creating new professions to propel intelligent development across sectors.

At the China Petroleum and Petrochemical Enterprise Information Technology Exchange Conference, held in Beijing from May 15 to 16, enterprises showcased numerous cases of application of intelligent agents integrated into various industries.

One such case was from Changqing Oilfield, China's largest oil and gas field, which has achieved automated control of over 50,000 oil wells through intelligent agent coordination.

"Coordination of the intelligent agent has enabled the intelligent analysis of videos from over 40,000 cameras. It can instantly detect oil leaks or fires, with the rate of accuracy improved to over 90 percent," said Shan Jiquan, executive director of the digital and intelligent business department of the Changqing Oilfield, a branch of PetroChina, China's largest oil and gas producer.

This intelligent agent is designed to assist experts in the oil and gas industry. It possesses professional expertise and comprehension on a par with industry specialists through the accumulation of vast cross-disciplinary knowledge in the field.

"Through this intelligent agent, we can help our employees in the oil and gas industry quickly search for information, generate documents, and conduct document reviews. Moreover, it is self-learning and self-evolving, continuously acquiring more real-time knowledge," said Qi Chen, chief planning engineer of the industrial digitalization solutions department at Chinese tech company ZTE.

In the new model of human-machine collaboration, artificial intelligent agents will handle standardized, repetitive, and even complex tasks, while humans will focus on innovation and decision-making. This complementary partnership boosts both work efficiency and quality.

From digital avatars to industry-specific assistants, artificial intelligent agents not only introduce a new model of human-machine collaboration but also create new career opportunities.

"This transformation will create at least three entirely new professions: intelligent agent systems operation maintenance specialists, intelligent agent resource distribution coordinators, and intelligent agent collaboration designers. Driven by this trend, artificial intelligent agents will become the core force driving productive force leaps, profoundly reshaping our industrial ecosystem, organizational structures, and the role of humans," said Huang Jizhou, chief architect of intelligent agent business at Chinese tech giant Baidu.

Increasing use of intelligent agents accelerates digital transformation, create new professions across industries

Tensions rise in Iraq after Sunday's U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, with Baghdad intensifying security measures in the Green Zone and a mass evacuation of U.S. embassy personnel underway.

The Iraqi Security Forces have deployed SWAT teams and armored vehicles in the Green Zone, particularly heavily in areas near the U.S. embassy. Temporary cordons were established around the diplomatic premises, barring access of unauthorized personnel. According to sources in the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, over 500 staff members and contractors associated with the U.S. embassy have already left the country.

Meanwhile, Shia militias associated with Iran in Iraq have issued statements over the past days, threatening retaliatory attacks on U.S. military bases in the Middle East in response to the strikes on Iran. The Iraqi government is still in communication with radical militias to prevent further escalation of the situation.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani pointed out in Monday's phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that the U.S. military aircraft intruded Iraqi airspace while carrying out the attacks on Iran.

Al-Sudani condemned the violation of Iraqi airspace by U.S. and Israeli aircraft, stressing Iraq's commitment to upholding its sovereignty and calling on the UN Security Council to fulfill its core responsibility in halting the war and intensifying diplomatic efforts.

Multiple Iraqi parliament members and religious leaders have voiced criticism against the U.S. for its hypocrisy, demanding the Iraqi government to strengthen airspace control and calling for withdrawal of the U.S.-led coalition forces from Iraq, the prime minister said.

Small-scale protests have also broken out in Bagdad and Najaf, with demonstrators holding banners saying "Defend sovereignty, oppose occupation," requiring the government to take a tougher stance against the U.S. military operations.

Facing growing pressures from multiple sides, the Iraqi government is reassessing its security and military cooperation framework with the U.S.

According to some analysts, if the U.S. continues to ignore Iraqi sovereignty and take further military actions against Iran, the U.S.-Iraq relationship might face challenges.

Iraq ramp up security in Baghdad's Green Zone after US airstrikes on Iran