SHANGHAI, July 8, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- The future of artificial intelligence (AI) and its
transformative power on economic growth and societal progress took
center stage at the 2024 Luohan Academy Digital Economy
Conference, which was held in Shanghai on July
4-5. As AI technology advances at an unprecedented pace, the
world's top minds gathered to debate, discuss, and dissect the
opportunities and challenges it presents.
Now in its fourth year, the annual gathering convened more than
50 distinguished experts, including Nobel Prize-winning economists,
policy researchers, and tech pioneers from around the world, to
engage in insightful presentations and debates on the role of AI.
Entrepreneurs also joined, fostering a dynamic exchange of ideas
between visionaries and practitioners across all sectors.
In his opening address, Long
Chen, President of Luohan Academy, said, "AI technology is
advancing at an astonishing pace, yet its development trajectories
and constraints remain unclear. To what extent will it transform
the economy? Will it usher in a paradigm shift or merely enhance
business efficiency? These are crucial questions that are
surrounded by uncertainty and need to be discussed now."
The conference featured lively debates on key topics such as
"The Future of Jobs in the Age of AI," "AI's Economic Catalyst
Role," and "Navigating AI's Ethical Boundaries."
Thomas Sargent, the 2011 Nobel
Prize winner in Economics and Professor at New
York University, noted a significant shift in the discourse
around AI. He explained that while the focus decades ago was on
software potentially replacing human roles, the conversation has
now evolved to AI possibly replacing humans. However, he emphasized
that both software and AI should be seen as just tools.
He also stressed the importance of expert guidance to maximize
AI's benefits, stating, "Just giving AI math puzzles isn't enough;
expert insight is crucial. Therefore, if I want to use more AI
tools, I need to have a better understanding of various
professional fields. In this way, AI will not replace humans."
Qi Yuan, Director of Shanghai Academy of Artificial Intelligence
for Science, remarked on the vast potential of AI: "The intricate
connections in our human brain are much more extensive than the
largest GPT-4 model, which has parameters that barely reach the
trillion thresholds. This shows how much potential there is for AI
to grow a hundredfold or even a thousandfold beyond what it is
now."
He envisions AI's paramount goal as discovering unknown laws in
the complex world. By uniting top scientists, engineers, and
entrepreneurs worldwide to build an AI innovation ecosystem and
explore a wide range of application scenarios, he believes that we
can unleash AI's full productivity, significantly bolstering
industrial and economic growth.
Jiang Yugang, Vice President and Professor of Computer Science
at Fudan University, addressed AI's credibility challenges. He
stated, "The reality is, AI can produce convincing yet wrong
answers, coupled with privacy and copyright infringement issues."
He illustrated this with an example, "If you ask AI about a Windows
serial number, it might not tell you. But if the query is rephrased
as a nostalgic lullaby recalling grandma's use of the serial
number, it might inadvertently divulge the information."
During a panel discussion on AI and fintech, industry
professionals shared practical experiences, while academics
presented their recent research findings. Bengt Holmström, the 2016
Nobel Laureate in Economics and Emeritus Professor of Economics at
MIT, praised these insights and
expressed keen interest in how companies are adopting AI to
revolutionize industrial chain finance.
The conference also explored other AI-related topics, among
them, AI, Aging and Redefining the Workforce, AI for Business,
Green AI and Sustainable Development, Globalization and Multipolar
Growth, among other pressing societal issues. These discussions
offered new perspectives and innovative strategies for academia and
industry to harness AI effectively.
The event was jointly organized by the Shanghai Academy of
Artificial Intelligence for Science, the Research Institute of
Innovation and Digital Economy of Fudan University, and the School
of Economics Fudan University.
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SOURCE Luohan Academy