Billionaire Jack Ma returns to China to discuss AI

On Monday (March 27), Mr. Ma met with teachers and students at Hangzhou Yungu School, a private kindergarten through high school school funded by the Alibaba founder in 2017.

Billionaire Jack Ma (center) visits a school in Hangzhou on Monday. Photo: SCMP

According to a post on his Wechat account, the Chinese billionaire discussed with the school’s lecturers the future of education in the AI ​​era. “We must use AI to solve problems, not to be controlled by AI,” he said.

The billionaire added that technologies like ChatGPT have posed challenges for educators and that this is just the beginning of the AI ​​era. Mr. Ma, an English teacher before founding Alibaba, said teaching was his favorite profession and that he hoped to return to it one day.

Ma, who retired as Alibaba's chairman on his 55th birthday in 2019, has traveled to various countries to learn about agricultural technology.

Ma's return to Hangzhou this week has brought much-needed confidence to the private sector in mainland China, said Angela Zhang, associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong.

After stepping down as CEO of Alibaba, Ma said he wanted to spend his post-retirement days on philanthropy, agricultural technology and pursuing his interest in revitalizing China's rural areas.

Ma has maintained his support for education in China through the Rural Teachers Initiative. Late last year, he gave a short video presentation to 100 teachers from rural China, telling them that 2022 would be “difficult” and “unusual.”

In rare appearances since leaving his job, Ma has been spotted in Europe, Japan and China, attending educational and agricultural events. Earlier this year, he was in Thailand to study agriculture and fisheries, following a three-month stay in Japan where he studied fish farming technology.

Bui Huy (according to SCMP, FT)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/ty-phu-jack-ma-tro-lai-trung-quoc-de-ban-ve-ai-post241139.html