After the layoffs, I became a tech godfather

Chapter 230 Press Conference

Half an hour later, in the hospital's academic lecture hall.

According to Zhang Lin's own thinking, he was reluctant to face the media at this time, especially since no one from Baiju Technology was present, and there were many things he couldn't explain clearly.

However, the hospital clearly had its own ideas.

Zhang Lin did come anyway.

"Distinguished leaders, colleagues, and friends from the media, good afternoon."

Zhang Lin had participated in many similar press conferences, but this was the first time he had ever seen one so large that even an academic lecture hall that could accommodate hundreds of people was packed to capacity, especially with CCTV News' new media client broadcasting the entire event live.

After a brief opening, he introduced the basic situation: "What I can tell you now is that the patient's surgery was very successful, and the verification of sensor-AI decision-making to replace hormone neural regulation is progressing steadily so far."

"However, considering that the patient was less than 72 hours post-surgery, it would be inappropriate to draw conclusions about this work at this time. Especially for a case like this, which has no precedent in the world, we must be extremely cautious when drawing conclusions."

"Just an hour ago, I performed a routine check-up on the patient, and both the patient's physical condition and emotional state were better than expected. Good news: the patient said they felt hungry. That's the basic situation. If anyone has any questions, please raise your hand."

"Whoa, success!"

"You're already feeling hungry?"

Congratulations on your speedy recovery and discharge from the hospital!

The CCTV News live broadcast room was quickly flooded with countless viewers, all of whom were overjoyed and sent their heartfelt blessings.

"We have truly lived up to a great era. Thank you, era!"

"Yes, thank you for the times. I recognize you. Is your Douyin name also 'Youth Like Memories'? Keep it up!"

@YouthfulMemories posted a video on Douyin a few months ago: "I started dialysis at the age of thirteen, and it's been nine years now. I want to live for another nine years. Is that too much to ask?"

In the prime of their youth, they were struggling to survive.

"Keep going! What's nine years? Let's try to live for two more nine-year periods, three more nine-year periods!"

"Wouldn't that be too extravagant?" This reply from "Youthful Memories" evoked sighs from those who heard it and brought tears to their eyes.

"You have many more nine-year periods in your life, keep going! I'll let you in on a little secret: the AI ​​artificial organ—kidney—project, a collaboration between our hospital and Baiju Technology, has overcome its biggest hurdle. It will be ready for clinical application in a year at most. By then, you'll not only be able to live many more nine-year periods, but you'll also be able to eat and drink whatever you want, just like a normal person!"

Just a few days ago, when Hao Cheng responded to some media outlets, he revealed the situation of AI organs for the first time, and kidneys were among them. This Douyin video of @青春如拾忆 was dug up by netizens and quickly gathered a group of fellow patients. At this moment, they were all in CCTV's new media live broadcast room.

"I've been on dialysis for two years now, and I want to live for another ten years, but dialysis costs three thousand a month! I can't even earn three thousand a month! I don't know if artificial organs are expensive!"

"Yes, my elderly parents and I, frail and weak, are plagued by poverty. Technological development is indeed rapid, but when has it ever been applied fairly to everyone?"

"Don't say that. If America had been the first to develop this organ, then needless to say, it would have taken at least ten years and would have been completely unrelated to ordinary people. You couldn't afford to replace it. But this is Baiju Technology. You have to believe that Baiju Technology would never cheat people."

"Yes, that's why I've been following this live stream. It's a source of hope, even if it's just a dream, I'm willing to watch it."

"Yeah, keep it up, comrades!"

……

The press conference studio of the First Affiliated Hospital of Linzhou University suddenly became a gathering place for kidney disease patients.

Ordinary people are initially confused, but gradually come to understand how fortunate they are to be free from illness and disaster.

At this moment, everyone couldn't help but sigh, "Fortunately, there's still Baiju Technology."

At the press conference, reporters from the media were asking questions about the AI-assisted organ-stomach surgery.

From the initial project proposal, data evaluation, and fine-tuning of the Xiaosha model to the recent surgical situation, AI data, and electrochemical conversion, Zhang Lin has been completely open and honest about everything within his authority.

A reporter from China Media Group asked, "Professor Zhang, we know that this 'AI artificial organ,' which uses 'sensor-AI decision-making' to replace 'neuro-hormonal' regulation, is the first of its kind. So, we would like to know, what kind of changes do you think this model will bring to the future of the medical industry?"

"Well, this question involves quite a few aspects, so I'll just give a brief overview..."

If this issue is expanded upon, it already involves Baiju Technology's unreleased new products. Zhang Lin originally wanted to avoid the topic, but before he could finish speaking, he received a message from Hao Cheng: Don't have too many reservations, just talk about it, consider it a warm-up for our new products.

Xiao Sha relayed Hao Cheng's message to Zhang Lin through the glasses-style earpiece. Zhang Lin was taken aback at first, then laughed: "Originally, I couldn't say too much because it involves a new product that Baiju Technology hasn't released yet. However, I just got authorization, so I'll tell you all about it in detail."

"First, let me state my conclusion: the impact of AI on the future of healthcare is disruptive. How disruptive? You're probably thinking about AI-powered decision-making for artificial organs like artificial stomachs and kidneys, but I'm telling you, that's a narrow view!"

"Whether it's the stomach, kidneys, or heart, surgery is always a last resort. I don't know if you understand what I mean—who wants to have surgery for no reason? Nobody has that kind of preference, right?"

"Haha, of course not!" Ordinary people would laugh it off, but those suffering from serious illnesses would give a bitter smile.

"Therefore, the impact of AI on the healthcare industry lies in eliminating healthcare!" Zhang Lin stated a very bold view. He continued, "You've all heard the story of Bian Que, the famous physician of ancient my country, and you must also know the theory in the *Huangdi Neijing* that 'the best doctors treat illness before it manifests, the mediocre doctors treat illness as it begins to manifest, and the worst doctors treat illness after it has manifested.' So, what is healthcare? Treating illness after it has manifested! And how do we prevent illness before it manifests? Now there's a medical model called Xiaosha Fine-Tuning Model that can predict your health status ten or twenty years from now based on your genome and current lifestyle and condition."

"Okay, Xiao Sha predicts that if things continue like this, your probability of getting lung cancer in ten years will be 99.78%. Is this accurate? Can I only verify it in ten years? No, Baiju Technology has a new research method that can quickly verify the reliability of such predictions."

"Okay, does this outcome necessarily mean it's unchangeable? Of course not. When I was saying this, I mentioned a premise: if things continue like this, you'll get lung cancer in ten years. So, if you want to change the outcome, what should you do first?"

"Change the conditions! Why don't you just stop doing things this way? So, the next question is, how do we change it? Xiao Sha's medical fine-tuning model can give suggestions based on each person's specific situation and genomic conditions."

"So, I'd like to ask: Does Xiao Sha's suggestion count as a medical procedure?" Zhang Lin paused for a moment: "Does treating future illnesses count as a medical procedure? What do you all think?"

"I've only ever heard of early, middle, and late stages of cancer, and that the earlier it's detected, the easier it is to treat. I'll get cancer in ten years, but I can start treatment today. What's so special about that?"

"Why am I starting to feel this is getting abstract? If Xiaosha says I'll get lung cancer in ten years, and I start treatment now, and I don't get it ten years later, does that mean I'm cured, or I never had it in the first place? Is it true that if you believe, it exists, and if you don't believe, it doesn't?"

"If it were any other company, I would definitely consider it a charlatan. For example, there are some gene testing companies nowadays. I might be able to accept detecting some defects, but I don't believe in predicting the future."

"But Baiju Technology can use DNA information to verify the traceability of data. I believe they must have a way to convince me."

……

Whether treating future diseases counts as a medical procedure or not, neither the reporters at the scene nor the viewers in the live broadcast room took Zhang Lin's question seriously. Was it even important?
Importantly, this almost superhuman level of predictive accuracy and the reliability of the treatment are remarkable.

The internet was in an uproar: "If we can both predict and change these two things, does that mean we'll never get any more serious diseases?"

"Of course, besides, this thing isn't difficult at all—especially the principle, it's very simple. In a person's life, genes determine their innate nature, and the environment determines their acquired nature. If you combine genes and environment, predicting the future is a piece of cake, isn't it?"

"Simple?" Some people were scratching their heads, thinking it was science fiction, while others actually said it was simple.

"Isn't that right? You can look it up; genetic screening has been done for a long time. In Shanghai, it's one thing for upper-class people to just date, but if it involves marriage, they will all undergo screening for infectious diseases and related genetic information."

"Think about it, there are already organizations that can do this much, and with the addition of a finely tuned version of Xiao Sha, it's not surprising that they can predict and change things, is it? This isn't science fiction, it's the power of real science, okay!"

What exactly can AI do? Ordinary people no longer have a clear understanding of the boundaries.

Previously, ChatGPT, as a large-scale language model, first appeared in the public eye, capable of dialogue, answering questions, and creating diagrams, which led many to regard it as science fiction.

Later, Xiao Sha emerged with an overwhelming presence, and a unique court trial unveiled a new chapter in its comprehensive application.

Since then, AI has been used in everything from developing programs and seamless interaction with integrated perception to analyzing food safety components, adjusting lithography machines and production lines, and now it has entered the medical field. People no longer know what AI cannot do.

The idea that AI is omnipotent, especially the omnipotent Xiaosha AI from Baiju Technology, is now widely accepted.

In modern society, anything that exists, when combined with a little sand, results in double the value. People no longer even ask why; that's the conclusion.

So, since there are already institutions that can perform gene screening, what else is there to say? Xiao Sha can easily outperform them. This is the common understanding people have now.

"I just checked my genetic screening results, and it might be true, but is it really necessary for Mr. Hu to get tested when looking for a partner?"

"Don't listen to his nonsense. I've never met one of them. I don't know where he read this long essay! Current genetic screening is mainly for prenatal screening because mutations in certain genes are closely related to cancer, so it can detect even the slightest clues."

"Then there's screening for some common genetic diseases, but that's about it. I hope Xiaosha can unlock more secrets of the genome so that we will be free from diseases in the future!"

The live stream got more and more lively with each discussion, ranging from medicine to genomes. Coincidentally, just two days earlier, the American National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a ban on institutions in countries of concern from accessing controlled human genome, phenotypic information, and disease research data.

"This is something that countries all over the world have been involved in, and each has been conducting independent research for at least one or two decades. It's all been done using supercomputers. But now, if we hand this work over to Xiao Sha, it should be done very quickly, right?"

"Whether it will be fast or not is hard to say, but the accuracy and prediction of gene mutations will definitely be improved to a higher level."

……

The press conference was still ongoing, and the questions were getting more and more off-topic, but Zhang Lin continued to answer them with a smile.

"Hello Professor Zhang, reporter from Shannan TV. I'm asking this question on behalf of a group of people. Right now, in our new media live broadcast room, there's a group of people gathered here: kidney disease patients. They are people who need dialysis to survive."

"Our CEO Hao posted a message a few days ago saying that the relevant technology is under development. Do you know the specific progress? Could you please provide some information?"

"You really know how to put people in a difficult position." Zhang Lin smiled. At least the topic had been steered a little back on track. Otherwise, if they kept asking about industry development and practical significance, he, a frontline clinician, wouldn't be good at summarizing those things. So, he chose to answer:
"Based on the information I have and what I can tell you, to sum it up in one sentence: it will happen as early as the end of the year, or at the latest, early next year. That's all I can say. A few days ago, we were working on a technical challenge, which seems to be a kind of artificial biological nanoscale biomembrane."

"One million units of this biomembrane could perfectly replace a human kidney. It's very difficult. But, according to my inside information, the lab has already succeeded and is working on mass production."

"Alright, we've had some time. One last question." Zhang Lin smiled. "Sixth row, by the aisle, the lady with the blonde hair, I've seen you raise your hand the whole time. What's your question?"

"Professor Zhang, I have obtained some information that, to date, neither your project nor your partner's project has published any papers in international journals such as The Lancet or The New England Journal of Medicine."

"I've inquired with some relevant people, and they all say they haven't received any submissions from you. Are you unwilling to share your findings with international colleagues? Or do you lack confidence that your work will be appreciated by them? I'm very curious to know the answer to this question!"

(End of this chapter)