Academician He Zuoxiu: Why was ChatGPT not born in China?

Source: NetEase Finance Think Tank

He Zuoxiu is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a particle physicist and theoretical physicist

In 2023, ChatGPT will become popular, and AI will enter a new stage of development. But why was ChatGPT not born in China? Why does China lack original major inventions, and where is the gap between domestic and foreign talent training? NetEase Finance Think Tank specially invited He Zuoxiu, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a particle physics and theoretical physicist, to be a guest on the "Annual Question 2024" program to see how he will answer this question.

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Scientific research is like climbing a mountain, you can't get to the top without going over those difficult places. You have to go through all these journeys, and you won't understand them if you don't go through them. Scientific research or educating the next generation has its own laws that must be satisfied, and this law is not subject to human subjective will, and you can only shorten the journey a little at most, but it is impossible to skip it completely.

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01

China lacks a tradition of scientific research, and the history of scientific research in Europe predates that of China by more than 300 years

Personally, I believe that we lack a tradition of scientific research. What is the tradition of scientific research? Modern scientific research in Europe began with Galileo, and this is not my opinion alone, everyone says so. In 1590, Galileo Galilei experimented with "two iron balls falling to the ground at the same time" on the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Strictly speaking, the scientific study of modern Chinese history only appeared during the May Fourth Movement in 1919.

The history of scientific research in Europe began relatively early, and the gap of more than 300 years cannot be ignored. Where is the gap? It's how a generation learns to do scientific research, and it's not a simple matter. Scientific research seems to be an individual behavior, some people love to do this, some people love to do that, but it is actually a social demand.

Engels said, "Once there is a technical need in society, this need will push science forward more than ten universities." "Most of the schools in our country inherit the tradition of Confucian education in China: the examination of talents, the examination of the imperial examination, and so on. The close connection between education and research at the university began after Galileo, through mistakes and explorations. We have a gap of more than 300 years in this period, and this is the biggest problem in China's scientific research.

If we want to make up for this gap, we need to increase investment in scientific research. Scientific research costs money, and it requires the input and support of the whole society. I'll give you a very sharp example, Mr. Wu Youxun is my senior, and he has a major contribution called Compton scattering. Compton scattering is an important discovery in quantum theory and has many practical uses.

After the May Fourth Movement, the country began to learn modern natural science from the West, and in 1921, when Mr. Wu Youxun was still a young man and was willing to do this, he went abroad to find Compton, who was very welcome: "If you are willing to come and study, help me do an experiment." "Mr. Wu did a great job and did a great job of discovering the Compton scattering.

Because the Compton scattering experiment is so important, some people say that it can't be called Compton scattering, but should be called Compton Wu Youxun scattering. Mr. Wu resolutely objected, he said that this is not scientific, I am just an operator in that place, and I have done a lot of specific things, but it does not mean that scientific research is mainly operation, the main thing is to think about this problem, know what the nature of this problem is, and have an idea, what kind of experiment can be answered. All of this is Compton's, and I'm just doing something concrete.

When I say this, Mr. Wu only understood this truth after working for a while, Mr. Wu understands, do we understand? We slowly understand. Do the public understand it? I dare say that most people still don't understand it. In foreign countries, this is a very common thing, and the reason is that they left more than 300 years before us. I have no objection to being able to come to the top later, but we must study carefully. Even if you come from behind, you still have to make all the mistakes you should make, and there are many things that you have to do to understand.

02

To run a first-class education, we must have first-class investment

The experiments done by Prof. Wu belong to basic research, and a lot of what we are doing now is development research, and some of them are applied research. Basic research has also been done a little, but in the past two years, the mainland's basic research investment has accounted for only about 5%. Another indicator is called R&D-to-GDP (the proportion of R&D expenditure to GDP), and the proportion of R&D to GDP has increased in recent years. However, the proportion of R&D (basic research as a proportion of research expenditure) is about 5%. This shows that there are many irrational aspects of the structure of our scientific research deployment. The proportion of R&D (basic research as a share of research funding) is at least about 15% in the United States and even 31% in the European Union. Our problem now is in these places - we don't understand that scientific research must be paid for, or the state must be paid, or society must be paid.

People have a big misunderstanding that if a person has a bright brain, is interested, and is willing to study, let him do scientific research, which is empty talk. Because he has not undergone rigorous scientific training, he does not know what scientific work is, and he cannot enter the door at all. Scientific research has its objective law of development. This is a major problem in China's current policy of scientific research and education.

Tsinghua University and Peking University have been ranked higher and higher in the world in recent years. In the 2022QS World University Rankings, Tsinghua University and Peking University are ranked 17th and 18th respectively in the world, but this does not prove that their research capabilities can also reach the top 20 in the world. Because Tsinghua Peking University was established later and invested later. Of course, it is not easy to establish Tsinghua University and Peking University, and our seniors and teachers have made a lot of efforts. But what's the problem? We still need to bridge the gap of more than 300 years. This gap requires a high level of investment from the state or society to fill it, and I can't stress this enough.

This is not something that can be solved by giving full play to subjective initiative, doing scientific research is all piled up with money, including school education, if you want to run a first-class education, you must have first-class investment, this investment is not a year's investment, because the effect can not be immediate, you have to continue to invest for many years.

China's total investment in education has remained at the level of 4% of GDP, and the United States has been at 6% all year round, two percentage points higher than ours. Moreover, the history of education in the United States is still long, and the history of Chinese universities is much shorter than theirs.

Now we all want to catch up with and surpass the level of the United States, and I am in favor of it, but I have repeatedly stressed that it is impossible to catch up if we do not close the gap in money. This is not something that can be answered by exercising initiative. Hua Luogeng is also my senior teacher, he said that human beings can land on the moon, but they will never be able to land on the moon by bicycle. This is the relationship between subjective initiative and objective possibility.

03

Why is there a lack of original major discoveries and inventions in China?

There are a lot of scientific research papers in China, and there are also high-quality papers, but in general, there is still a gap between them and foreign countries. If nothing else, we have said that we will invest heavily in artificial intelligence in recent years, but ChatGPT is still proposed by other countries, why? Is it that Chinese are particularly stupid? I believe that no one will agree with this view. So why don't we make any major discoveries? It's a question worth asking.

Americans' investment in scientific research is not always effective, and some are in vain. For example, in theoretical physics, I know that the United States has a history of wasted investment. When I was younger, the United States invested heavily in the positive point model, and Yang and Lee were both opposed. Although the two of them have a high status in the academic world, they still do not play a decisive role, and the United States still invests a lot of money. But as it turned out, this model does not work.

But even so, the United States is willing to invest. Because, if you don't make mistakes, you won't understand. I have repeatedly said that the Chinese are no more stupid than the Americans, but the Chinese are not smarter than the Americans. Scientific research is like climbing a mountain, you can't get to the top without going over those difficult places. You have to go through all these journeys, and you won't understand them if you don't go through them. Scientific research or educating the next generation has its own laws that must be satisfied, and this law is not subject to human subjective will, and you can only shorten the journey a little at most, but it is impossible to skip it completely. I have said again and again that the gap of more than 300 years cannot be filled all at once.

Why do we have quite a number of outstanding scientific research personnel who are reluctant to come back abroad? There is no other reason than that the remuneration given abroad is much higher, and the remuneration given at home is much lower. There are really patriots who have returned, but less, and it cannot be taken as a universal phenomenon.

The remuneration of foreign individuals is relatively high, and in addition, its funds are also easy to obtain, which is very difficult for us now. In 2022, the ratio of R&D to GDP (R&D expenditure to GDP) is about the same as that of the United States, 3% in the United States and 2.55% in China, but the value of R&D in R&D (basic research as a proportion of scientific research expenditure) in China is about 5%, which is 1/3 of the international level. So that's equivalent to, in China, I'm only one-third as likely to be an American. I still have a title - academician of the Academy of Sciences, and it is even more difficult for young people to get research funding without a title, which is a very real problem.

In addition, China has trained many PhDs in recent years. But quite a few people's doctoral dissertations are not of good quality. But since you have accepted a doctorate and give you some work, it is difficult to explain if you don't give him a degree. I don't think this is a mistake of those in charge of education and science, but a social necessity. I have repeatedly stressed that you must understand and make up for the gap of more than 300 years. In terms of investment in scientific research and in the change of concepts, it is impossible to hope that China will catch up with the level of the United States in science and education without filling this gap, let alone surpassing it.

China is now training a lot of doctoral students at once. People have a tradition of more than 300 years, and the master leads the apprentice, and this accumulation is a lot. If we want to catch up, what should we do? Crowd tactics, a large number of training. A few students are more intelligent, but most are not. There is a problem with the quality of doctoral training in China.

In terms of scientific research, I have a period of experience of learning and doing research with Professor Peng Huanwu. Mr. Peng is a student of Max Born, one of the founders of quantum mechanics, who worked with Max Born for more than ten years and is willing to serve his country after returning to China. At that time, we heard that Mr. Peng was back, and we all wanted to learn from him. He had a set of guidelines for selecting people on his own, and I approached him, and he agreed to teach me.

A lot of people don't know that this is the standard teaching in a foreign country -- it's not that he tells you anything on the blackboard, but what he wants me to tell him, what you've done lately, what books you've studied, what opinions you have, what opinions you have, what opinions you have. After listening to it, he commented on the opinions that were reasonable, which were not, which opinions could be done, but not necessarily turned into scientific research... This is a very important question, and it is not that I have an idea that can be turned into a scientific research topic.

He taught me for half a year, and at that time I worked very hard, telling him all kinds of literature, but he didn't support it, don't try it. In the end, I reluctantly agreed to a topic that I could try, but then I didn't do it. Why? He thought that scientific research topics that were reasonable were quickly made by foreign countries. You have an idea, and people have thought of it.

What do I mean by talking about these things? It's a bit like a master leading an apprentice, passing on the word of mouth, and we don't have that. Why can't you do that now? How can a tutor have time to do that if he has to take twenty or thirty students?

Let me tell you another story, in 1923, we invited the great scientist Albert Einstein to China to give a lecture, but at first he refused to come. Then we asked him again and again to come. He said, "I can do it, you have to give me $1,000." "Some people say that one silver dollar is equivalent to 200 yuan now, assuming that this exchange rate is reasonable, 1,000 silver dollars is equivalent to 200,000 yuan now. That is, spend 200,000 yuan to give a speech. At that time, the society raised 1,000 US dollars, and Einstein stopped on the way to Japan, gave a lecture in Shanghai, and left after the lecture.

This is the gap, in his eyes, the Chinese are simply not qualified. Of course, he may be too arrogant. But do you know how far apart we were from Einstein in 1924? That's what we're in the process of catching up now. To study and discuss these issues, you need to start from the actual situation of the country.

We can't afford to be complacent and think that we have caught up now, you see that our investment in scientific research is no less than that of the United States every year, and our university funding is also quite large. You don't know, this problem can't be solved in a year, I say over and over again, this problem depends on high investment, and it is long-term and continuous investment.

What is the level of education in China today, my answer is to look at the amount of investment, which is a sign of this. Of course, if you want to say that Peking University and Tsinghua University, we are focused on investment and guarantee, so we can enter the world-class university queue. How many first-class schools have entered the United States? How many Britain? How many France? Britain and France are all small countries, Japan is not too big, and there are very few big countries like China with a population of more than one billion. Because of our large population base, we also have great requirements for scientific research and educational research.

Generally speaking, the level of secondary education in China is not very low, but generally speaking, we are backward in science and education, and if we want to catch up with and surpass this era, you have to think of new methods. In the vigorous development of science and education, we must not hesitate, can not always feel that far water can not save the near fire, for example, I call for vigorously strengthening investment in scientific research, in 2022 our R&D to GDP (the whole society's research and experimental development expenditure to GDP) ratio is now 2.55%, at least to 5.7%, 5.8%, otherwise we do not want to catch up.

Denmark is also a small country, but the proportion of R&D expenditure to GDP is also more than 3% all year round, and Denmark is a small country with a high level of science. For example, I have a hearing aid in my ear, a small thing that can amplify the sound, and it can be adjusted according to the condition of the ear. This hearing aid costs more than 40,000 yuan, and a pair is 90,000 yuan, developed in Denmark. Will we do it? No, we're just going to bring in and sell for others. Of course, it is not easy to sell, and you have to test your ears every month.

04

I am highly in favor of exam-oriented education

In my experience, students don't want to learn if they don't read. Therefore, I am highly in favor of exam-oriented education. What quality education, deceiving. When we were children, we also read the "Three Character Classic", "If you don't raise it, it's your father's fault." "After you give birth to a child, it is the father's responsibility not to send it to study hard. "If the teaching is not strict, the teacher is lazy", teaching children is not strict, this is the responsibility of the teacher, and I agree with it.

When I was younger, I was more willing to learn, so my teachers liked me and my grandparents liked me. But most children are reluctant to learn and just want to play, and this problem needs to be solved as a social problem. Different people have different lifestyles and cannot follow one model, there are many types of people. Educational issues must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, and they are not simply examination-oriented education or quality education. The big problem of our country is that we think that a slogan can solve the problem.

Homeschooling is important. When I was a child, my grandparents held us in their hands and told you how to count, and our family has always had this tradition. That's why I just said that children need to be educated. I went to school, and how to read a good book in school, not everyone understands this, I slowly understand it. I personally have an experience, after I was in junior high school, I always asked my senior classmates, for example, when I reached the second grade of junior high school, I asked my junior high school classmates how to study the second grade of junior high school well, they all read it, and they also knew the teacher's teaching method, what to teach, and someone could pass on the experience. By the time I was in high school, I had to find my classmates from the previous class to teach, and this experience was passed on.

I was lucky enough to have a few excellent teachers to educate me, and I was still humble in learning, but not everyone had this opportunity. Therefore, now I have said over and over again that the whole society should understand the importance of developing science and education. Centennial plan, education-oriented, this kind of slogan should not just memorize these eight big characters, but really put into action.

For example, should we learn from other people's educational experiences? We have sent scientific expeditions to foreign countries to inspect scientific work, so should we also study education? Buy a set of other people's textbooks, how Britain, the United States, and Russia are educated? These are all put into action, not just shouting slogans.

Compared with others, there is a gap of more than 300 years, and there is a gap of more than 300 years in terms of investment in scientific research and personnel training. It is important to think carefully about where this gap manifests itself and how to catch up. In short, you can't go to the moon on a bicycle, you have to invest heavily to make a spacecraft to the moon.