AttheannualBFAconferencethemed“AnOpenandInnovativeAsiaforaWorldofGreaterProsperity,”innovationnaturallybecameanimportantcomponentoftheconference,witharangeofsessionstouchingonit,including“TheNextWaveofTechnologicalRevolution,”“TheFutureofTransportation,”“TheFutureofProduction,”and“PutAItoWork.”
LooktotheFuture
WiththeincreasingapplicationofnewtechnologiesincludingAI,thefourthindustrialrevolutionseemstohavearrived.Manydiscussionsanddebatesareoccurringaroundpertinentissuesandthedirectionthiswilltaketheworldin,andthisyear’sBoaoForumwasnodifferent.
Inrailtransportfield,CRRCChair-manLiuHualongpredictedthattransportationwouldbeorientedtowardsensuringgreen,efficient,smart,andharmoniousexperiences.
“Technologywillfuelgreenandsmartdevelopmentofthesector.TheFuxinghigh-speedtrainisatypicalrepresentativeofinnovationinChina’srailwaysector.Thetraincanimplementself-managementandmonitoringthroughouttheentirejourneyandmakeremotecontrolpossiblethroughthewholeprocess.Moreover,anunmannedsubwaytrainhasalsobeenputintotrialinShanghai.Progressintechnologyisboundtobringindustrialchanges,”Liuexplained.Headdedthatcomfortoffuturevehicleswouldbegreatlyimproved,andvehicleswouldprovideaccesstoalmosteverythinglikearemoteofficeandshopping.
“Inthefuture,thecarwillnotbejustavehicle,butamobilespace,”saidShenHui,founder,CEOandChairmanofWMMotorTechnology.Heindicatedhiscompanywouldfocusonservicesprovidedinthemobilespace.
TothelingeringsmogwhichoccursinChinafromtimetotime,vehicleemissionsarebigcontributors.IntheviewofChairmanandCEOofBroadGroupZhangYue,toimproveefficiencyofenergyusebyvehicles,effortsshouldbemadetolessentheweightofthevehicle.
YasumiKudo,chairmanofNYKGroup,saidhiscompanydevelopedanewtypeofshipwithanincrediblyenergy-efficientpowersystemtoreducecarbondioxidedischarge.Autopilottechnologyhasalsobeenappliedtothevessel,whichhasalreadybeenputintoproduction.
RudolfStaudigl,presidentandCEOofWackerChemieAG,believesthatby2025itwouldbequitepossiblethatchemicalproductswouldnotrelyonpetroleumastheirmajorrawmaterial,thusminimizingcarbonemissions.
Inthedomesticappliancessector,people’sdemandsforfunctionalproductsinthepasthasupgradedintodemandsforcomfortsandluxuries.ChairpersonofGreeDongMingzhusaid,“Ithinkthemostimportantchangebroughtbybigdatatoconsumersisembodiedinservices.Supportedbybigdata,behindthescenes,technicianscanmaintainoperationofairconditioners.Ifit’sabighardwareproblem,technicianscanalsodiagnoseitwithoutbeingonsiteandthensendworkerstofixit.”
WiththeincreasingapplicationofAI,manyjobswouldbephasedoutormorphintodifferentones.AllanGabor,apermanentmemberofMerck’sPerformanceMaterialsGlobalLeadershipCommittee,thoughtthattodealwiththesituation,companiesshouldjoinhandswiththegovernmenttotraintheiremployeesaccordingly.Inhisview,AIhashelpedimproveproductionefficiency,butalsoshoweditsshortcomings,whichmakesitnecessaryforcompaniestohirewell-educatedpeopletocontrolthesmartmachines,thusstreamliningthewholeproductionprocess.
PuttingAItoWork
WiththearrivaloftheABC(AI,bigdata,andcloudcomputing)era,AIisseeminglyspearheadinginnovationtrends.FindingwaystorealizethemasscommercialuseofAItechnologieshascometotheforefrontofthepublicandcommercialdiscussion.
ChairmanofiFLYTEKLiuQingfengbelievesthatwiththeincreasingapplicationofdeeplearningalgorithms,AIwillplayagrowingroleinassistinghumanbeingstocompletevarioustasksinarangeoffieldsatthepremiseofprotectinguserprivacy.“AIapplicationswillmainlyclusterinvariousindustrialsectorswithpersonaldemandsbeingtakenintoconsiderationaswell.SowecanimagineinthefutureeveryonecanhaveanAIassistanttohelpyoubetterdoyourwork.Maybeinthebeginningitmightonlydo10percentofone’sjob,butyearslateritcoulddealwith50percentofthework,thusgreatlyliberatingpeoplefromlaboriousandrepetitivetasks,”Liusaid.
Infact,AIhasbeenappliedtogradingtestpapersinChina’snationalcollegeentranceexamination,andevenoutperformsmanualgrading.Supportedbybigdata,AIhasalsobeenusedinChina’scourtsystemtoassistjudgesinhandlingcases.Moreover,lastyear,anAIdevicewiththecapacityofageneralmedicalpractitionerpassedChina’snationalqualificationexaminationformedicalpractitioners.SupportedbytheAIapplication,lastAugust,theNationalHealthandFamilyPlanningCommissionandtheAnhuiprovincialgovernmentjointlyfoundedChina’sfirsthospitalwithAIassistingdoctorstoprovidemoreefficientservicestopatients.RoboticassistancehasalsobeenusedintheChinesePLAGeneralHospital.DoctorsinChinesehospitalsareusuallyoverloadedwithpatient’svisits.Soafterapatientarrives,heorshecanfirsttalktoarobottoinformitofthepatient’sbasicinformationandconditions.Whenitcomestohis/herturnforseeingthedoctor,thedoctoralreadyhastheinformation.Duringtheinquiryprocess,therobot’sinterrogativeabilitycanalsobetrainedandthusfurtherimproved.
AIcansurelyplayaroleinhelpingacompany’sdevelopment.Hsiao-WuenHon,corporatevicepresidentofMicrosoft,saidAIcouldhelpacompanyrealizetransformationandupgradinginthreeaspects.Thefirstisaboutproductsandservices.AsHonsaid,yearsagoInternetPluswasinvogue;nowAIPlusisgainingmomentum.Second,HonbelievesthatAIwilldrawacompanyanditsclientscloser.Third,AIcanimproveacompany’soperationalefficiency.“Thuswecanproducecheaperandupgradedproducts,”Honsaid.
ZhuGuang,seniorvicepresidentofBaidu,said,“Baiduhasopenedupalotofdataprocessingcapabilitiesinsuchaspectsasvoice,picture,video,andnaturallanguageprocessing,whichareallopentodevelopers.Nowwehavealegionof500,000developers.Inthenextfiveto10years,everyindustrywilldeeplyintegratewithAI.Therewillbesomeverylargeplatformcompaniesthatprovideallkindsoffirmswithbettertools,computingpower,andalgorithmstohelpthemachieveAI-poweredtransformation.”Accordingtohim,Baiduisworkingwithbankstohelpthemrealizethetransition,buildingupthebanks’financialcapabilities.OnDecember2,driverlesscarslineuptoraceatapreliminarycontestofthe2016ChinaIntelligentVehicleChampionshipheldinJiadingDistrictofShanghai.Atpresent,asentimentthatisinvoguewiththeriseofAItechnologiesisthathumanjobswillbereplacedbyrobots.Forexample,theTencentsimultaneousinterpretationappthreatenstoreplacehumaninterpreters.PresidentofTaiwanSemiconductorManufacturingCo.MarkLiuassuredhisaudienceattheBFAannualconference,“Don’tbeafraidofAI.Withbrainandsoul,we’repeerless.AIisjustpartofourtechnologies.”Hethoughtdifferencesinbothlinguisticsystemsandcultureshadleftabigspacefortheimprovementofmachinetranslation.Liupredictedthatwiththecollectionofbigdata,theaccuracyofmachinetranslationwouldcontinuetoincrease.“Alotoftranslationworkcanbedonebythemachine.Wedon’tneedtospendtimeonthingsthatcanbedonebythemachine.Soyoudon’tneedtofeelthatAIistakingyourjob!TheproblemishowtomakegooduseofAItoassistpeopletobetterandmoreefficientlycompletetheirwork,”Liuremarked.
TrickySocialIssues
Newtechnologiesoftenleadtocollisionandblendingofvariousvaluesandethicsintheirapplications,leavingabigspacefordiscussionabouthowtobetterusethem.
FormerDirectorGeneraloftheWorldHealthOrganizationMargaretChanthoughtthatatechnicalrevolutionshouldprimarilyaddressurgentsocialissuesbyprovidingsolutions.Chanbelievesitisveryimportanttoensurepeopleacrosstheworldcanallbenefitfromthenewtechnicalrevolution.
ZhangDeqiang,Visionox’schiefscientist,endorsedChan’sview,saying,“Theultimategoalofalltechnologiesistosolvethevariousafflictionsplaguingsociety,forexamplediseasesandpoverty,andbetterservehumanbeings.”
FrancisGurry,directorgeneraloftheWorldIntellectualPropertyOrganiza-tion,heldthattheneutralityofscienceandtechnologyneedstobewellmanagedtoachieveapositivesocialimpact.Gurrysaid,ontheonehandnewtechnologieshavebeendevelopedandappliedworldwide,exertingglobalinfluence;ontheotherhand,state-levelmanagementwasmoreeffectivethaninternationalgovernance.Thus,internationaldiscussionsneedtobecarriedoutandeffortsmaderegardingbettermanagementoftechnologies.
IsraelientrepreneurandinvestorYossiVardibelievestheworldneedsinclusivemeasurestoenableparticipationofpeoplefromallwalksoflife.Heindicatedthattodaysomesocialgroupsmighthavebeenmarginalized,unabletoshareresources,butthesituationshouldn’tbeallowedtocontinue.Thereforeinclusivesolutionsareneeded.
InthediscussionsattheBFAannualconferenceontechnology,datasafetywasalsooneofthemajorconcernsforattendees.JohnChen,BlackBerryexecutivechairmanandCEO,saidthemostimportantissueinthebigdataeraistheownershipofdata.“Ifindividualshaveownership,whetherornotgovernmentorcompaniesshouldhavetherighttoaccessthedataisabigissue.Forindividuals,ifacompanyintendstousethedata,itshouldpayhim/herbecausehe/sheistheowner.SoIthinkissueslikethisareactuallyrelatedtoeveryoneofus,”Chenpointedout.
TechnologygiantBaidu,throughtheprovisionofavastarrayofservices,hasproducedahugeamountofdata.“EveryemployeeofBaidushoulderstheimportantresponsibilityofprotectinguserprivacyandensuringdatasafety.Forus,it’sataskwemustcomplete,notjustasupplementarywork,asit’sthepremiseformanyofourotherprojects,”BaiduPresidentZhangYaqinsaid.HerevealedthatBaiduhascraftedaverystrictprocedure,includingencryption,toensureuserdatasafety.C