On July 28, according to Bloomberg, OpenAI’s ChatGPT set off a revolution in AI development and investment. However, Wang Jian, founder of Alibaba Group's cloud computing and AI department, said that 90% of the technologies and services that have emerged since the ChatGPT craze may disappear within ten years.
Wang Jian
OpenAI is credited with bringing AI into the mainstream market. However, Wang Jian said in an interview with Bloomberg TV that the problem is that OpenAI has caused people to have a "bias" or one-sided perception of AI capabilities. It ignited the public’s imagination about chatbots, but the applications of AI go far beyond that. Wang Jian pointed out that developers need to eliminate noise and think about application scenarios with creative thinking in order to promote AI to the next stage of development. Wang Jian built Alibaba Cloud, the company's second largest business, from scratch in 2009.
"I think that 90% of the AI content people are currently discussing may disappear within five to ten years, because these are not the essence of the technology. But this is not a bad thing, but will help us explore." Wang Jian said.
Before joining Alibaba, Wang Jian's work at Microsoft Research Asia established his reputation. He really knows how to get out of the box. Soon after joining Alibaba, he proposed the idea of developing computing business to Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma. He recalled that he was very nervous at the time because he had neither a specific business plan nor a model to display. He only had a firm belief: the market demand for computing power would explode in the future. Turns out, he was right.
Today, Alibaba Cloud has grown into a $16 billion business. It not only supports Alibaba’s global e-commerce and logistics business, but also gave birth to the Tongyi Qianwen model. This model is considered to be comparable to DeepSeek and American products such as ChatGPT and Gemini. Currently, Alibaba is fully betting on AI and engaging in the global race to build general artificial intelligence (AGI).
Find the right person, not the most expensive one
Right now, Chinese and American companies are investing billions of dollars in developing a technology that promises to drive rapid economic growth and change the global landscape in the long term. U.S. President Trump signed an executive order calling on companies such as OpenAI and Google to help ensure the United States’ leading position in the post-ChatGPT era.
Wang Jian did not comment directly on the competition between countries, but criticized companies such as OpenAI and Meta for spending extravagantly, such as recruiting top engineers with salaries at the level of sports superstars.
"Silicon Valley's approach is not the way to success. What really matters is innovation. So in the early stages of innovation, I don't think talent is a problem, because the only thing you need to do is to find the right people, not expensive people." Wang Jian said.
Wang Jian admitted that he did not expect that the AI revolution would come so fast nearly two decades ago. All he could imagine at the time was that computing would be as important as electricity or oil. This importance will continue for at least several decades.
Regarding China, Wang Jian firmly believes that China will continue to be a hot spot for innovation, in part because it is one of the largest technology laboratories in the world.
"This is a testing ground for new technologies. People are full of enthusiasm for technology and are making many different attempts." Wang insisted.