Baidu pledges to nurture 5 million AI talents in next five years
On May 16, Baidu, China’s tech giant known for its search engine and AI abilities, released its 2021 ESG Report, upholding the concept of “Do Better with Tech”.
In 2021, Baidu updated various regulations and systems, which cover security redline, office security, basic security, data security and privacy, product security, third-party cooperation security, security management, and other aspects. The company was involved in formulating 141 key standards in areas such as deep learning, federated learning, AI application technology, big data, and cybersecurity, according to the report.
Baidu has also been trying to increase workplace diversity and nurture a variety of talents. According to the report, women account for 39.3% of Baidu’s employees and 43.2% of management positions. The company has also held a series of competitions and events over the years, such as Baidu Cybersecurity Skills Competition for College Students, Annual Festival of Baidu Security Response Center, White Hat Night of Baidu Security Response Center, and Cybersecurity Technology Sharing in Universities and Colleges, to inspire and motivate the next generation of talents.
In order to further promote the development of technology, Baidu has led 21 open-source organizations and more than 1,000 open-source projects on Github as of 2021.
In addition, to meet its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, Baidu has initiated a slew of actions to reduce emissions, including building green data centers, constructing smart office buildings, utilizing intelligent transportation, promoting green supply chains, empowering customers to achieve carbon reduction by Baidu AI Cloud, and offsetting carbon footprint for operations that are difficult to achieve carbon zero. Baidu has issued the first sustainability bond worth USD 1 billion and purchased 500,000 kWh of green electricity certificate.
As one of the biggest and most influential tech companies in China, Baidu has also been keen on its philanthropy projects. In 2021, Baidu’s charitable donations totaled RMB 198.045 million, including RMB 90 million for affected areas by flood in Henan, RMB 50 million for those in Shanxi, and RMB 58.045 million for others. The total value of material donations from Baidu reached RMB 23.8902 million, including 200 fundus cameras and 10 sets of “Assistance to Doctors’’ primary medical solutions of Lingyi Zhihui.
“Baidu has pledged to nurture 5 million AI talents for society in the next five years and to make greater continuous contributions to the cultivation of national strategic scientific and technological force,” said Robin Li, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Baidu. “We make these efforts to honor our inherent mission “to make the complicated world simpler through technology.”