When I am reborn, I just want to be a top student

2018 was not a good year for Masla.

Beset by various troubles, including insufficient production of Maodou 3, the company was also facing stock price manipulation and short selling, and the appearance of prohibited content during a live broadcast caused the stock price to plummet, leading to a reduction in the valuation of Masla across Wall Street.

Even in China, many people criticize Musk for having personality problems and being unsuitable to manage a company.

The fact that Masla, who was overwhelmed with problems and embroiled in various troubles, was able to appear at this conference was unexpected by many.

Masla attended the conference not only to meet with Wang Donglai, but also to have a deeper exchange with Jack Ma.

After all, Jack Ma, as the founder of China's largest e-commerce platform, is not only extremely wealthy but also has considerable international fame.

Masla also wanted to find a way to break through his own predicament by learning from Jack Ma.

As for the meeting with Wang Donglai, it was to leverage Wang Donglai's expertise as a top scientist to find a new and better direction for the integration of future technological development and commercialization.

The question asked at this point is just the beginning.

Faced with Masla's question, Wang Donglai's eyes flashed, and he said, "The first question is about the export of the Hercules rocket engine. We need to go through the relevant authorities for approval. It's not something I can decide."

"The second question is about GalaxySpace's commercial operation requirements. I am not in a hurry because I believe that the current level of aerospace is only at the most basic stage and is still a long, long way from technological maturity."

"If we rush into commercialization, there aren't many suitable projects, and the profit margins won't be satisfactory."

"Therefore, in my plan, GalaxySpace's commercial operation is not very high, and I will not speed up the process in pursuit of profits."

"Perhaps we will seriously consider commercialization after we have completed the space transit station and the lunar base."

Wang Donglai spoke with absolute confidence, without the slightest hesitation.

After all, he owns most of Galaxy Technology's shares, and Galaxy Technology is not short of money; it has enough money for him to do this.

This is something that no one else can compare to.

Just like pure scientists, no matter how top-notch they are or how much support they receive from above, they still have to go through procedures and meet performance requirements.

Those wealthy people may seem to have a lot of money in their hands, but they can only completely control a very small portion of it.

Just like Masla could never do that.

SpaceX shareholders have been putting pressure on Masla.

Capital is short-sighted. If it doesn't see returns for a long time and money keeps being poured in, most capital will back down.

So when Masla heard Wang Donglai's words, he simply didn't know what to say.

However, seeing Wang Donglai's serious yet calm face, Masla instantly realized that what Wang Donglai said was not wrong.

This is what he truly believes!
At that moment, Jack Ma spoke up.

"Let's talk about employment next!"

Masla and Wang Donglai both nodded, and Jack Ma continued, "What new jobs will artificial intelligence create for us, or has this change already begun? What are your thoughts on this? In fact, people worry about every technological innovation. For the past hundred years, we have been worried that new technologies will take away our jobs, but in reality, they have created many jobs. So this worry is completely unfounded."

"In the next twenty years, with the improvement of social standards and the progress of science and technology, life sciences will extend the lifespan of all of us again, with an even higher average lifespan, perhaps reaching a point where three generations can work together under one roof."

"But I don't think it's a good thing. Why have so much work? I think working three days a week and four hours a day would be fine."

"Our era has developed very well. Thanks to electricity, the night is no longer pitch black, and we can make better use of our time. We can work during the day and sing and dance at night."

"With artificial intelligence, I think we will have more time to enjoy the fun that life brings us. I have probably been to more than 300 different cities, my father has probably been to more than 30 cities, and my grandfather has been to a maximum of 3 cities."

"But my grandchildren may have been to 3000 cities, travel by plane, car, and ship, and be on the road all the time."

"By then, we won't need much work. What we'll need to do is make everyone happy, bring joy, experience life, and enjoy the fun that science and technology bring."

"In the agricultural era, the average lifespan was 30 or 50 years. After the industrial era, people could live to 70. In the age of artificial intelligence, people can live to 100. This is my guess."

"But there's a problem here. As people's living standards improve, they won't want to have children. We'll have a lot of jobs, but nobody will want to work. We need artificial intelligence and robots to take care of the elderly and handle elder care matters."

"Imagine if that time really came, and everyone lived to be a hundred years old, and your grandfather told you he still had to go to work, that would be a disaster."

Masla didn't seem to be particularly moved by these words.

On the contrary, Wang Donglai's expression gradually became somewhat solemn upon hearing these words.

"Mr. Ma, I don't think we need to wait until artificial intelligence technology matures and becomes widespread before we can achieve a three-day work week and a four-hour workday."

"Actually, I have a rather bold idea. I hadn't made up my mind before, but after listening to Mr. Ma's words here, I have the courage to do so."

"That means I plan to try implementing a four-and-a-half-day work week across the entire Galaxy Technology Group. If there are any positions that are really impossible to implement, we will also provide corresponding salary increases and overtime pay subsidies."

"If the four-and-a-half-day work week goes smoothly, then my next step will be to start working from home."

"Employees can choose to work in the company or from home. Nowadays, a lot of work is done on a computer, so as long as you have internet at home, there is not much difference."

"The reason for doing this is that we have many young people in our company who have left their hometowns to work hard in big cities. If they don't come to big cities, they can't find good jobs, but if they come to big cities, they are too far from home."

“I had an idea when I was still studying at Tangdu Jiaotong University.”

"So what is the purpose of our reading?"

"I believe that the purpose of our studies is not to escape our impoverished hometown, but to acquire knowledge and skills to go back and build our hometown into a better place."

"If a young person leaves his hometown after completing his studies and only returns twice a year, how can he talk about building his hometown?"

“I think working from home is a very meaningful experiment.” “Working from home is completely different from working in the office. I know that many companies have a strong corporate culture or a dependency phenomenon among employees.”

"But once that distance is created, a deep gap forms between leaders and ordinary employees. I believe this can further promote efficiency and enhance fairness."

"In addition, when employees work from home, they can spend more time with their families, which is also a very humane approach."

"Five hundred years is too long, seize the day, there are always so many things to do, and they are always urgent."

"It would be too long to wait for artificial intelligence technology to develop and become widespread."

When Wang Donglai got to this point, he deliberately paused for a moment.

Jack Ma and the audience were all surprised and incredulous when they heard Wang Donglai talk about the four-and-a-half-day work week and working from home.

They looked at Wang Donglai as if he were an alien, completely unable to comprehend his thought process.

Seeing Jack Ma's reaction, Wang Donglai smiled.

He understood Jack Ma's confusion.

It's like I'm saying, bro, I was just bragging, why did you take it so seriously!

"Mr. Ma, throughout history, our nation has had those who speak and those who act. The former have a louder voice, but the latter have played a greater role in the development of civilization as a whole."

Sometimes, saying a thousand words is not as effective as getting down to work and accomplishing one thing.

Upon hearing Wang Donglai's words, Jack Ma's face immediately turned ugly.

Jack Ma understood perfectly well that he had been taught a lesson by Wang Donglai.

However, given the current situation and the previous topic, he was completely at a disadvantage, so he couldn't say anything to refute it.

"President Wang's idea is very humane and is indeed worth learning from."

Jack Ma was speechless for a moment, and then said this dryly.

Fortunately, Masla spoke up at that moment.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Masla also overlooked what Wang Donglai had just said.

"The development of artificial intelligence technology may eliminate many jobs, but it may also create more new jobs and change the real meaning of many jobs."

"Just like how current AI can already write simple software programs on its own, and its advantages in the humanities are something that humans simply cannot match."

"Therefore, I think the mainstream employment in the future may lean towards natural sciences such as engineering and physics, or engaging in jobs that involve interaction with people, which would also be a good decision."

"Technological development is very rapid. Perhaps one morning when we wake up, a laboratory in some corner of the world has achieved a technological breakthrough."

"The development of this technology cannot be announced to us in advance, nor will it give us time to prepare."

"We must do this work as soon as possible, because we may not have much time left."

Jack Ma quickly chimed in, "Unlike you, I never worry about problems I can't solve, because I know there are many people in this world, and I'm just one of them. Just because I can't solve a problem doesn't mean others can't."

Jack Ma glanced quickly at Wang Donglai, afraid that Wang Donglai would speak, and continued, "Now, let's discuss education under the development of artificial intelligence technology."

“I am more interested in education, such as what knowledge and skills we need to master in the future to help us gain more advantages, and what advice we have for young people who want to pursue artificial intelligence. I think discussing these issues in this setting will be of great help to young people.”

"Here, I'll briefly share my thoughts. After all, I'm not a scholar or expert in the field of artificial intelligence; I'm just analyzing it from a businessman's perspective."

"I don't think there will be any professionals in artificial intelligence in the future. The reason is simple: just from the name, you know that artificial intelligence is a powerful technology, an intelligent program algorithm that can be compared to the human brain. Is it still a program? What is the difference between it and a virtual human?"

"These are questions for philosophers to ponder; I don't care about them, nor am I capable of distinguishing between them."

"I know that machines are many times more powerful than humans in some aspects. For example, machines can store all the poems and songs from ancient times to the present and access them at any time, but human computers cannot do that."

"Currently, with the development of human civilization and the progress of science and technology, we have accumulated more and more scientific knowledge. For example, when we first started studying medicine, there were only a few medical books. As long as we memorized them, we could practice. But now, there are many sub-disciplines, and each discipline consists of thick books."

"Human beings are far behind machines in their ability to acquire and store knowledge. Our learning ability is far behind the speed at which new knowledge is created."

"If this situation continues for a long time, a knowledge gap will occur."

"Therefore, education under the trend of artificial intelligence must focus on its application in the field of education."

"With the help of artificial intelligence technology, people can become smarter and more intelligent. We should change our teaching methods and content, keep up with the times, and actively embrace new technologies."

"Of course, this is a very big topic that requires professionals to handle. I'm just offering my opinions here."

As he talked, Jack Ma gained confidence.

It felt like returning to a familiar battlefield.

Masla nodded in agreement and said, "Indeed, the best way to predict the future is to create it. We need to evaluate what we are learning to see if it allows us to predict the future and reduce our mistakes. We can think about education in this way."

“Currently, all education systems teach children things that are primarily designed for the industrial age. In the past, we focused on memorization, but computers remember better and calculate more clearly than any of us. So I think we need to be more creative and constructive, such as learning art, painting, or dancing.”

As soon as Jack Ma finished speaking, Masla and Wang Donglai shook their heads together, clearly disagreeing with Jack Ma's statement.

However, Wang Donglai did not rush to speak first, but let Masla speak first.

"I believe the best way to learn in the future is to improve brain neural connectivity technology, treating the human brain like an external device, and uploading knowledge directly into the human brain as an alternative file. In this way, humans can immediately grasp all the uploaded knowledge."

Masla's eyes brightened with interest as she spoke. (End of Chapter)