Hubai Mountain
Director of the Boao Forum for Asia
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of vivo
HU Baishan
Corporate Member of the Boao Forum for Asia,
Executive Vice President & COO, vivo
Q: At present, various countries, including the United States and European countries, have successively launched chip and green industry policies. How do you see the impact of industrial policy on the vitality of scientific and technological innovation?
Answer: At present, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating, cutting-edge and disruptive technologies continue to emerge, and industrial policies play a vital role in cultivating future industries, driving industrial upgrading, opening up new tracks, and shaping new quality productivity.
First of all, the bottleneck of industry innovation requires breakthroughs in basic theories and underlying technologies, and through major national scientific and technological projects and research in national key laboratories, technological breakthroughs can be accelerated and innovation bottlenecks can be broken.
Secondly, the steam engine, internal combustion engine, electrification, and information revolution are all single technology revolutions, while the current evolving intelligent revolution is a hybrid revolution of various underlying technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, spatial perception, brain-computer interface, and bioengineering.
Finally, the investment in basic theories, cutting-edge technologies and disruptive technological breakthroughs is huge, but with a high degree of uncertainty, it is often difficult for companies to take such high risks, and it is necessary to reinvest in the direction of determining the future competitiveness of the country with the strength of the whole country.
vivo adheres to user-oriented differentiated innovation, consolidates the R&D foundation, and hopes to promote the collective prosperity of the industrial chain and supply chain, accelerate industrial transformation and upgrading, and promote the rapid development of new quality productivity with the support of national industrial policies.
Q: With the breakthrough of AI last year, which areas do you expect the technological revolution to be most likely to approach the "singularity" in the short term?
Answer: We have grown together with our enterprises and users for 29 years, and as a technology company that understands the needs of users very well, vivo is better at judging which consumer-level technology revolution is approaching the "singularity". First of all, it is necessary to see whether the changes in user needs have formed a significant trend, and secondly, we will look for a long-term track of science and technology that can meet the needs of users in the process of technology research and development. If the trend of user demand is significant, and the corresponding technology track has leapfrog progress, it means that the "singularity" may come.
In recent years, users' demand for "portable technology" has become more and more vigorous, and we expect a "universal" technology product to be around us anytime and anywhere. Of course, we can understand this demand as the basic demand for the "mobile phone industry", but considering the recent breakthroughs in communication, chips, artificial intelligence, and image sensing technology, it may be possible to make a "robot" hidden around people and provide various intelligent services. To put it simply, we believe that the mobile phone industry itself is the "singularity" that the technological revolution is most likely to approach.
In 2023, vivo will also launch its own technology brand "Blue Technology", among which vivo's self-developed general large model matrix - Blue Heart Large Model is one of the earliest and most capable open large models released in the mobile phone industry. Mobile phones have real user needs, and there are a large number of technological innovations similar to vivo blue technology in the industry, and I believe that there will be breakthrough technology products soon.
Q: Currently, various countries, including the United States and European nations, are successively introducing policies on semiconductors and green industries. How do you view the impact of industrial policies on the vitality of technological innovation?
A: At present, as the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation accelerates, cutting-edge and disruptive technologies continue to emerge. Industrial policies play a crucial role in nurturing future industries, driving industrial upgrades, opening new tracks, and shaping new quality productive forces.
First, the innovation bottleneck in the industry requires breakthroughs in basic theories and underlying technologies. This can be accelerated through tackling key technological projects at the national level and research in national key laboratories, thus breaking through the innovation bottleneck.
Secondly, the steam engine, internal combustion engine, electrification, and information revolution were all revolutions of single technologies. However, the ongoing intelligence revolution is a hybrid revolution of various underlying technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, spatial perception, brain-computer interfaces, and bioengineering. This revolution requires more cross-technological and cross-industrial collaboration and guidance from industrial policies. It emphasizes the leading role of national strategic technological initiatives to create original technology sources.
Lastly, the investment in basic theories, frontier technologies, and disruptive technological breakthroughs is enormous and highly uncertain. It’s often difficult for enterprises to bear such high risks, making it necessary for national efforts to re-invest in directions that determine the future competitiveness of the country.
vivo insists on user-oriented differentiated innovation, solidifying its R&D foundation, and hopes to promote the collective prosperity of the industrial and supply chains under the support of national industrial policies. This aims to accelerate industrial transformation and upgrading, and promote the rapid development of new quality productive forces.
Q: AI saw significant breakthroughs in 2023. In which areas do you foresee that technology will most likely approach “singularity” in the short term?
A: vivo, as a tech company deeply attuned to user needs, excels at identifying which consumer tech revolutions are nearing the “singularity.” First, we look for significant trends in user needs; next, during our technology R&D process, we seek long-term tech avenues that can meet these needs. If there’s a noticeable trend in user demands and corresponding technology paths are making leapfrog progress, it indicates that the “singularity” might be approaching.
In recent years, there’s been a growing demand for technology to be “portable and personal, ” with expectations for a “do-it-all” tech product that’s always by our side. While this demand could be seen as a fundamental need within the mobile phone industry, considering the recent breakthroughs in communication, chip technology, artificial intelligence, and imaging sensors, the possibility of a “robot” that blends into our surroundings and provides various smart services has emerged. This could well be a “singularity.” In short, we believe the mobile phone industry itself is where the tech revolution is most likely to approach the “singularity.”
Over the years, the vivo Central Research Institute focuses on “design, imaging, systems, and performance” based on user demands and technological trends. In 2023, vivo also launched its technology brand “BlueLM” including vivo’s self-developed general large model matrix—BlueLM, one of the earliest released and most capable open large models in the mobile industry. With real user demands and a wealth of technological innovations like vivo’s BlueLM emerging in the industry, we believe it won’t be long before breakthrough tech products appear.