Leaders of tech giants showed up at the third World Internet Conference (WIC), held in November from the 16th to the 18th in Wuzhen, in South China’s Zhejiang province.
CEOs of Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent and Qihoo 360 talked on Wednesday about their visions for ecommerce, artificial intelligence (AI), changes in the Chinese market, and internet security, Sohu IT reported.
Jack Ma, Alibaba
Alibaba’s executive chairman Jack Ma spoke on Wednesday at the keynote speech, saying that those who can fully employ internet technologies will be the ones dancing under the spotlight in the coming 30 years.
He said that what ecommerce did was not destroy traditional retail; instead, ecommerce represents the trend of using internet technologies and thinking in an internet-influenced way to create more value.
Ma believes that the next 30 years will be significant for humankind as new technologies integrate into all aspects of traditional industries. “No matter who or where you are, everyone will become a part of this huge revolution,” he said.
Robin Li, Baidu
Baidu’s founder Robin Li reemphasized the potential of AI in the age of the internet.
“AI will bring changes to everyone, every industry, and every country,” said Li. “Though we haven’t figured out what exact changes they will be, it keeps me up at night when I think about the unlimited possibilities.”
Li mentioned in his speech that the Baidu driverless car, which was only for exhibition at last year’s WIC, is running on roads with passengers this year. He also mentioned Baidu Translation, which now covers more than 20 languages in over 700 fields, and is likely to replace human interpreters before long.
Pony Ma, Tencent
Tencent, founded on November 11th of 1998, recently celebrated its 18th birthday. The past 18 years have witnessed China’s growing strength in internet business and technology, and Ma said that it is tech giants’ responsibility to further increase that strength.
He believes in the capability of Chinese enterprises to compete in the international arena, saying that “China now boasts quite a few innovative providers of internet products and services who are leading the way on a global scale.”
In addition, he pointed out that China remains a big market for internet enterprises worldwide, and that China’s digital economy calls for more investments in both capital and technology.
Zhou Hongyi, Qihoo 360
This October saw a massive cyber-attack in the U.S., during which some top websites including Twitter, Amazon and Netflix were knocked out.
Zhou called for public attention to cyber security, a lack of which “would lead to catastrophic social and economic consequences”.
According to Zhou, this November 11th alone saw 180 million scam calls and 190 million scam text messages intercepted by Qihoo 360, China’s leading internet security company.
“As we step into the era of the internet of things (IoT), cyber security must also adjust to include not only personal computers, mobile phones or tablets, but also other connected devices that may pose threats to user privacy,” said Zhou.
(Photos from Baidu Images and Weibo)