• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, September 5, 2017

Google's core search service is known as a frontrunner in the advertising industry, but the race to take a leadership role in artificial intelligence and machine-learning applications and research remains wide open. Contenders like Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft continue to show their strengths in the technology as each battle for dominance.

In China, Google is ramping up its presence, hiring engineers who specialize in AI. In fact, The Wall Street Journal reports there are nearly 60 open positions in Beijing and Shanghai posted on the company’s careers web page.

Microsoft claims it has invested in AI for more than 25 years, but in 2017 the company launched an Artificial & Research team, recruiting researcher and engineers specifically for its global engineering teams and now has about a dozen open positions.

Still, Microsoft is losing AI experts to China. Baidu hired Microsoft executive Qi Lu as part of its move into AI, and Tencent hired former Microsoft scientist Yu Dong.

Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent are contributing to China's rise in AI. In July, the country published new State Council guidelines providing ambitious goal through 2030.

In a research note titled China's Rise in Artificial Intelligence published by Goldman Sachs, analysts for the investment bank suggest the world's second-largest economy has emerged as a major global contender in using AI to drive economic progress.

Companies and governments have identified AI as the next big innovation. The ability to develop AI technology and research has been touted by world leaders who admittedly believe that countries leading in artificial intelligence will dominate global affairs.

"Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world," Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly said to students at a school, reports RT.