Jack Ma makes rare appearance with Alibaba leadership to discuss AI

by PENG Peng

Alibaba founder Jack Ma made a rare public appearance on March 3, joining the company's top leadership at Hangzhou Yungu School, a private school founded by Alibaba partners, to discuss how artificial intelligence could reshape education and work.

According to information obtained by Jiemian News, Ma and several senior executives visited Hangzhou Yungu School, where they spoke with teachers about the opportunities and challenges brought by the rapid development of AI.

Those attending included Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai, chief executive Eddie Wu, risk committee chairman Shao Xiaofeng, head of Alibaba's e-commerce business Jiang Fan, as well as Ant Group chairman Eric Jing and chief executive Cyril Han.

Photo from Alibaba Group

Ma said the AI era had arrived faster than many expected and that society was still unprepared for the scale of change it could bring. While the disruption could be profound, he said, it also offers an opportunity for education to return to its core purpose.

Time spent on rote memorization and repetitive exercises could be reduced, freeing students to focus more on creativity and imagination, Ma said, adding that children should learn how to live and work alongside AI.

AI capabilities are improving rapidly, with new iterations emerging almost weekly. The shift could significantly raise productivity and reshape the structure of work, potentially reducing traditional working hours while also eliminating some types of jobs, he said.

Tsai said critical thinking would become increasingly valuable in the AI era. The key skill in the AI era is not simply asking questions, he said, but asking the right questions, while communication between humans — and between humans and machines — will become increasingly important.

Wu said three qualities would continue to distinguish humans from machines: curiosity, empathy and physical capability. As AI replaces some intellectual tasks, he said, physical activity may become more important.

Jing said AI should handle routine tasks so people can devote more time to creativity and imagination but warned against becoming overly dependent on the technology.

Alibaba has been stepping up investment in AI. During the Lunar New Year holiday, the company launched a campaign through its Qwen AI app allowing users to order services such as milk tea, food delivery and tickets using voice commands.

The company said more than 130 million users participated in the campaign, generating over 200 million transactions through a feature that allows users to place orders with a single sentence.

According to AICPB, a Chinese AI product ranking site, ChatGPT, Doubao and Qwen ranked among the top AI applications globally by monthly active users. Qwen recorded 203 million monthly active users, making it the third largest globally and surpassing Google's Gemini while posting the fastest growth rate at 552%.