The advent of the digital era has brought about unprecedented transformations across a spectrum of industries, with artificial intelligence (AI) at the forefront of this technological revolution. As a strategic technology, AI is not merely a tool but a catalyst for deep integration with various sectors, significantly altering the way we produce and live. The Central Economic Work Conference has emphasized the importance of initiating the “AI+” movement, aiming to cultivate new industries stemming from this integration of artificial intelligence with traditional sectors. This directive signifies more than just the promotion of AI — it is also about harnessing its remarkable technological penetration and innovative potential to empower the industries of the future, driving a wave of high-quality development.

Future industries embody a new direction in both technology and industrial evolution. These industries arise from the fusion of disruptive technological innovations with existing industrial frameworks, resulting in novel products, models, and business practices. Future industries encompass areas such as brain-like intelligence in digital sectors, quantum information, future networks; unmanned aerial vehicles, satellite internet, and deep-sea engineering in aerospace industries; advancements in genetic diagnosis and brain science in biotechnology; and low-carbon technologies focusing on energy storage, carbon capture, and carbon storage solutions. Such industries not only meet current needs but also create new applications and consumer demands, harnessing fresh impetus for growth and leading business entities towards advanced productivity. This paves the way for the emergence of innovative products and services, while opening up new avenues for human understanding and physical capabilities, ultimately enhancing development opportunities and potential profitability.

As we witness the rise of future industries, it becomes clear that they serve as a critical gauge of a nation’s technological innovation capabilities, spawning a new competitive arena on the global stage. Adopting the “AI+” strategy becomes imperative for China to navigate international trends, accelerate its industrial transformation, and promote a new model of industrialization. This strategy also represents a fundamental approach to enhancing the international competitiveness and influence of Chinese industries.

Having grasped the concept of future industries, it is crucial to delve into why “AI+” is poised to empower these sectors effectively.

On one front, the “AI+” initiative can stimulate the emergence of new and future industries. AI itself sits at the pinnacle of cutting-edge technology, representing a transformative shift in technological innovation. Historical instances of radical technological changes, from mechanization and electrification to digitalization, all centered on liberating human labor. In this continuum, AI functions as the liberator of human intellect. By blending data, computing power, and algorithms, AI represents a revolutionary change that, once applied industrially as "AI+ industry," can significantly alter the landscape of industries and usher in what we term future industries.

On another front, as future industries emerge from these disruptive technologies, they inherently come with a high degree of uncertainty. Identifying which sectors exhibit characteristics of future industries and possess sustainable growth potential often requires the analytical prowess of AI. Utilizing its unparalleled computational capabilities, AI can analyze vast amounts of industry data, market trends, and research outputs, dynamically assessing the prospects of different sectors from supply-demand and technological perspectives. This enables the identification of industries with high technological standards, promising market potential, and substantial growth opportunities in an unpredictable environment, thereby facilitating efficient resource allocation and optimized industrial layouts.

Considering specific industries, we find exemplary models of the “AI+” synergy within brain-like intelligence, quantum information, future networks, deep-sea exploration, genetics, and energy storage. The brain-like intelligence industry directly stems from the applications of AI, mimicking human cognitive processes and neural mechanisms to develop advanced robotic systems capable of perception, decision-making, and control. Quantum information industries, represented by quantum computing and communication, critically depend on massive data processing capabilities, a space where AI excels. Future network technologies must utilize the “AI+” concept to foster the development of experimental infrastructures and advanced communication networks. AI further facilitates the exploration of unknown environments through predictive modeling, navigational assistance via robotics, genetic data analysis, power demand forecasting, and storage optimization — all pivotal for the robust advancement of these future sectors.

Empowering future industries with “AI+” represents an essential breakthrough in frontier technologies, accelerating their industrialization phase. With China already possessing intrinsic advantages in AI resources, technology, and application, alongside a vast internet user base and an abundance of data, the path ahead is ripe with potential. Embracing AI pegs China's future industrial development as a realm of vast possibilities.

The foundation for this potential lies in fostering collaborative applications. By concentrating efforts on core elements such as data, algorithms, and computational power in AI foundational research, we can collectively propel future industries toward significant technological innovations. Establishing technology application platforms, driven by development demands and ensuring autonomy, is critical to creating an open cooperative network involving government, enterprises, academia, and research institutions. This strategy aims to expand application scenarios and ensure efficient transitions of AI technologies into the development landscape of future industries.

The driving force behind this is establishing a cohesive ecosystem. There is an urgent need to nurture leading enterprises focused on AI technology innovations and applications, leveraging clustered growth to enhance the innovation capabilities of future industry chains. Empowering primary enterprises to lead original and disruptive innovations through AI, while supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their complete immersion in the future industrial chain, is essential. Supporting specialized small and new enterprises in AI facilitates their advantageous positions in pinpointing technological recognition and market applications, strengthening collaborative efforts and complementary capabilities. This maximizes synergy across large, medium, and small enterprises within the “AI+” framework, fostering an integrated development model from technology to product delivery, culminating in cohesive consumption patterns.

Moreover, it is vital to focus on enhancing the effectiveness of developments. Future industries should be strategically deployed based on regional characteristics, focusing on sectors such as future information, healthcare, manufacturing, energy, space exploration, and material science, all versus a backdrop of coordinated international innovation center construction. Adopting robust financial incentives and diverse tax support for industries empowered by AI is crucial. Additionally, creating a multi-layered, technologically advanced, efficient operational framework for the “AI+” infrastructure, standard systems, and support services is imperative for maximizing the technological empowerment effects.