Alibaba’s Luohan Academy Celebrates First Anniversary
28 June 2019 - 2:00PM
Business Wire
Global academics gather to tackle challenging
issues in the digital economy
Luohan Academy, an open-research initiative by Alibaba Group,
celebrated its first anniversary in Hangzhou this week, gathering
Nobel Laureates, renowned economists, social scientists, tech
pioneers and professors from leading universities to tackle the
disruptions and other issues we face from rapid digitization of the
global economy.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190627005994/en/
Dr. Chen Long, Director of the Luohan
Academy, spoke at the Luohan Academy Digital Economy Conference
(Photo: Business Wire)
The Academy was established last year to address the economic
consequences and social disruptions caused by a tech-driven
economy. Complementing Alibaba’s DAMO Academy, a global research
program for cutting-edge technologies, Luohan Academy examines the
implications that digital technologies will have on societies in
the future.
Over two full days of presentations and panel discussions,
participants aired their views on how to deal with the widening
digital gap in the global economy and challenges in the job market
caused by digital technologies. Other topics included whether a
platform economy can be beneficial to all participants, whether we
need new governance and regulations tailored for the digital age,
what the new ethics underlying emerging technologies are and how to
ensure the changes we’re seeing make the global economy more
inclusive.
Dr. Chen Long, Director of the Luohan Academy, commented:
“It was exciting to have over 200 renowned academics, including
Nobel Laureates and economists, gather together, discussing and
sharing their valuable insights on how to address universal
challenges arising from the rapid development of digital
technologies.”
“By drawing on the wisdom of global academics who come from
different backgrounds and cultures, we hope the Luohan Academy can
promote thought-provoking discussions on controversial, yet
critical, issues facing society. These discussions could serve as a
guidepost for social scientists, economists, educators, policy
makers and private sector leaders to examine what roles they can
play to bolster inclusive growth. As such, we hope to shed light on
the path toward a more dynamic, balanced and fair digital
economy.”
In Chinese’s Buddhist teachings, “Luohans” are enlightened and
empathetic beings who are willing to take actions to alleviate
world from suffering. Below are some issues discussed during the
conference, with the intent to inspire more dialogues to maximize
the benefits of technologies in the digital age:
- Should we first embrace digital technology or first address and
attempt to control potential risks? It took 46 years for
electricity to reach 50 million users, 14 years for computers,
seven years for the Internet and 19 days for Pokemon Go.
Decision-making time is getting shorter, and the cost of missing
out by failing to make a decision or by making the wrong one has
never been larger.
- Will technology widen the gap among people around the world or
provide a level playing field? The technological revolution we’re
undergoing has increased the number of people the earth can support
from one billion to more than seven billion. But it has also
triggered two world wars. Today, the key is to narrow the disparity
in wealth, so we ask ourselves how we can benefit as many people as
possible at the fastest speed.
- How will automation affect employment for humans? Will the
ongoing tech revolution lead to new jobs and shorter working hours?
What is the future of work?
- How will technology affect money transfers and payments across
borders? Will digital financial services lead to more risks, even
as they become more popular? What uncertainties will we face from
purely digital money?
- What are the ethics of artificial intelligence? When you have
an autonomous driving system using AI, and the driverless car has
to make a split-second decision, should an algorithm make the
unconscionable choice between hitting an old man on the left side
of the road, or a child on the right, if impact cannot be
avoided?
- Who owns data in the digital world and who should benefit from
it? The records of car drivers aren’t particularly meaningful to
most individuals. But, if shared, they make navigation software
more accurate. Sole ownership doesn’t create as much benefit as
pooling that data, provided privacy is protected.
For more information, please visit the website of the Luohan
Academy: https://www.luohanacademy.com/about/start
About Luohan Academy
Luohan Academy was founded in Hangzhou on June 26th, 2018. It is
an open research institute initiated by Alibaba Group and launched
by world-renowned social scientists, which consist of the academy’s
academic committee, including six Nobel Price laureates in
economics. Luohan Academy will dedicate itself to collaborating
with world-class social scientists and practitioners to
collectively explore and shape the consensus regarding how to
embrace the social and economic transformations brought by digital
technology. The purpose of Luohan Academy is to serve the society
at large, addressing the most important global challenges as well
as having an eye for the humanity’s long-term future.
https://www.luohanacademy.com/about/start
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190627005994/en/
Crystal Liu Alibaba Group +852 6378 5626
crystal.liu@alibaba-inc.com
Alibaba (NYSE:BABA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Alibaba (NYSE:BABA)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024