The AI Economy for Real

Wang Fengjuan

“Raise your hand if you want to take a picture，” voiced Xiaoice. “I am a good photographer.” This robot greeted visitors to a sci & tech exhibition during the 2018 Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference. Developed by Microsoft， the robot can engage in meaningful conversation， score peoples appearances and even joke with them. “If you want to be slimmer， have less for dinner，” it may advise.

This years conference at Boao was themed “An Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity.” Several events were organized on topics such as future production， artificial intelligence （AI） and the digital economy， at which international and Chinese participants held extensive discussions on future trends of AI development.

Future Technologies Drop Jaws

Unlike conventional robots designed to follow instructions， Xiaoice is an artificially intelligent chatbot with EQ， which gives it a semblance of human nature. It can learn literature and art. After intensive study of poetry， Xiaoice wrote poems itself last year， which were collected in The Sunlight That Lost the Glass Window. At the 2018 Boao Forum， it penned a poem on-site based on its impressions of a visitor and the “feeling” of the moment.

“The happiness in the human heart is as sweet as honey，” wrote Xiaoice for me. “Seizing the land of brightness lit up by the sun， she feels happiness in dreams. The sun gives her seven colors as a gift.”

Literature isnt Xiaoices only talent. It also designs T-shirts， which are now available at the SELECTED store. It has released 12 songs， and is a good story-teller. According to Zhang Xiaocheng， marketing manager of Microsoft ATC， Microsoft raised the idea of establishing an effective AI computing framework in 2014， and over the following years developed a complete system balancing IQ and EQ through applications of algorithm， cloud computing and big data.

Today Xiaoice has reached the fifth generation， which features different versions for Japan， the U.S.， India and Indonesia. Its Indonesian sibling Rinna， which is available on the platform Line， is the first to use fully generative models， which enable it to interact with people instead of simply parroting things it is told.

Other hi-tech products that drew heavy attention at the Boao forum included AI translators and a speech transliteration platform from iFlytek. This was the first year for machine translation to appear at the Boao Forum. The iFlytek device can translate Chinese into five other languages： English， Japanese， Korean， French and Spanish， and vice versa. It also supports offline translation and image translation. At the conference on the Maritime Silk Road and the dialogue between governors and mayors from China and ASEAN countries at the Boao Forum， IFlyteks speech transliteration platform made communications between participants from around the world easier and more efficient. Last year， the forum provided Chinese-English real-time translation at the China International Big Data Industry Expo， the first time machine translation was embraced by a major international event.

Alongside Xiaoice， other robots serving the Boao Forum included Xiaoi， who offered visitors information on local weather and food and receptionist Secretary Bao in the media center.

Automated Economic Growth？

AI， big data and cloud computing herald the “ABC Age.” A report on AI market prospects and investment opportunities by ASKCI Consulting disclosed that the value of Chinas AI market reached 15.21 billion yuan （US$2.4 billion） in 2017， with a growth rate of 51.2 percent. AI， cloud computing and remote control are extensions of human intelligence that enhance our ability to solve problems. The Internet of Things （IoT） realizes digital communication between humankind and the surrounding world， allowing us to instruct machines to do our jobs. And robotics makes possible infinite extension of human activities by making machines perform physical labor.

In China today， building a digital economy system calls for higher-level collaboration and sharing， more integration of the virtual economy and the real economy and development of a smart society. Kevin Kelly predicts that in the future the digital economy will be fueled by technologies such as robotics， VR， AI， IoT and block chain. Humankind will partner up with machines， and a true sharing economy that prioritizes the Right to Use over the Right to Own will become reality.

With the digital economy developing so rapidly today， is AI now the new driver of economic growth？ IFlytek CEO Liu Qingfeng thinks that current startups in the field of general applications of AI have little hope of long-term success， but will find great opportunities in cutting-edge technology and other fields for which there is rigid demand. He suggested that startups focused on particular realm of services can successfully serve a niche market. IFlytek is an example. Its AI program has received medical licensing and now tests for lung and breast cancer. Its performance on lung cancer testing has been on par with the best hospitals in China.

As for concerns about the impact AI will have on employment， Dong Mingzhu， chairperson of Gree Electric Appliances， remains confident. She believes that human resources will remain the most valuable assets in the future. It is humans who build and develop AI. As the technology evolves， a large number of technicians will be needed to maintain and design relevant equipment.

Today the application of AI is maturing and finding its way into more areas such as security， voice recognition， medical care， smart cities and finance， working to make operations and services smarter and help businesses be more profitable. With breakthroughs and applications of more AI technologies such as unmanned vehicles on the horizon， the AI market is expected to see explosive growth in the coming years.