'AI chickens' offer taste of technology in Shenzhen

Free "AI chicken soup" has been on the menu this week at Shenzhen University in Guangdong province to celebrate a breakthrough by students in applying artificial intelligence to transform Silkie chicken farming, which has so far increased production by 30 percent.

Silkie chickens are named for their unusually fluffy feathers, which have the texture of silk or satin. They also have black skin and bones, blue earlobes and five toes on each foot — one more than ordinary chickens.

To share the joy of its success at the chicken farm in Chishui, Guizhou province, the Tencent Cloud Artificial Intelligence Class — a program set up by the university and tech giant Tencent — offered the free soup to all teachers and students at the university's cafeteria.