Life in Jishishan improving thanks to AI project

Since a 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Jishishan, Bao'an, Dongxiang and Sala autonomous county in Gansu province last month, Tian Xiao, director of the AI Bean Project, has been busy recruiting workers.

The employment center is looking to bring in over 50 unemployed women in the disaster-stricken area to work in data annotation.

"Free training", "autonomous driving annotation" and "flexible working hours of eight hours per day"— three years ago, Ma Lei also saw these pieces of information on a job advertisement, reigniting her confidence to return to the workforce.

In 2019, Ant Group, Ant Public Welfare Foundation, and China Women's Development Foundation jointly launched the "AI Bean Project" to support the employment of women in underdeveloped counties in central and western China.

County official Lu Penghui said that over 70 percent of the employees in this industry park are women, with over half being members of ethnic minority group.

He serves as the liaison between National Healthcare Security Administration and the Jishishan. The bureau offers the county support for its poverty alleviation efforts.

During his two years in Jishishan, Lu has witnessed the development of this industrial park from just a few people to over 300.

The AI trainers are contracted to perform duties for companies such as mega food delivery platform Ele.me, electric vehicle companies Xiaopeng and Li Auto, and popular online payment platform Alipay.

"It's like a mutual nourishment and learning process between me and Jishishan, promoting each other," he said.

Watch the video to learn more.