The finals of the National Youth Labor Skills and Intelligent Design Competition (AILD) opened Saturday in Tongxiang in the eastern province of Zhejiang, with more than 10,000 contestants competing for top honors.
Nearly 200,000 young people nationwide took part in the competition, which featured over six months of preliminary and semi-final stages before narrowing the field to the national finalists.
At the competition venue, participants took part in 13 events. Challenges ranged from programming robots for fire-rescue missions to piloting drones through obstacle courses and accurately hitting color-coded targets, each designed to test both skill and creativity.
"I think this is really fun -- simulating a fire rescue scenario. For example, if an obstacle blocks a survivor with walls on both sides, we have to figure out how to push it aside before saving the survivor," said Ren Jiawei, a young contestant.
"I love the intense and thrilling atmosphere. It's both motivating and challenging for me. Drone technology is becoming increasingly popular, and I hope to pursue a career in this field someday. I want to stick with it and find joy in it," said Deng Jinxuan, a fellow competitor.
The AILD finals were held alongside this year's national conference on automation and artificial intelligence education.
Two key reports, "AI talent development blueprint" and "educational large model technology roadmap," were released at the conference to promote digital education and train a new generation of skilled professionals.
Experts attending the conference said education should be the main testing ground for artificial intelligence but warned that strengthening governance over technologies, including AI and large models, is essential.
"Education should be the primary application scenario for AI. But we must regulate large models carefully -- students shouldn't end up with weakened reasoning or critical thinking skills due to over-reliance on AI. Strengthening governance over technologies, including AI and large models in education, is essential," said Wang Feiyue, a researcher from the Institute of Automation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
China's youth AI innovation challenge finals attract over 10,000 contestants
