President of the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology Strategy: The three disruptive technologies in the next 10 years may empower each other, iteratively break through computing | artificial intelligence | technology
The emergence of artificial intelligence models such as ChatGPT has triggered a wave of technological change. This weekend, the "Pujiang Innovation Forum -2023 International Symposium on Science and Technology Innovation Think Tanks" with the theme of "AI reshaping the paradigm of technological innovation" was held in Shanghai. Experts from top science and technology innovation think tanks and industry university research institutions at home and abroad gave speeches.
Zhang Xu, President of the China Academy of Science and Technology Development Strategy, stated that the next 10 years will be an important period for disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and controllable nuclear fusion to empower each other and achieve collective breakthroughs. It will also be a key decade in determining the competitive landscape of major powers.
Three disruptive technologies empower each other
"Recently, there are two technology news worth paying attention to." Dean Zhang Xu said in a speech. One is that in May this year, Microsoft signed a power purchase agreement with Helion Energy to purchase 50 megawatts of electricity from the latter in 2028. The second news is related to it: OpenAI founder Sam Altman has invested $375 million in Helion Energy, and the two companies will collaborate deeply to accelerate the experimental progress of controllable nuclear fusion using AI models.
Dean Zhang Xu delivered a speech at the seminar.
The AI big models developed by OpenAI, such as ChatGPT and GPT-4, have become well-known to the public. What is the controllable nuclear fusion technology developed by Helion Energy Company? It is reported that controllable nuclear fusion, commonly known as "artificial sun", simulates the nuclear fusion process of the sun and releases energy through the fusion reaction of hydrogen isotopes - deuterium and tritium. It is seen as the "ultimate solution" to address human energy and carbon emissions issues, as deuterium has a storage capacity of up to 40 trillion tons in the global oceans. If all of it is used for fusion reactions, the released energy is sufficient for unlimited human use. The reaction product is helium, which is non radioactive and does not produce greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.
Although the application prospects are promising, the technical difficulty of controllable nuclear fusion is extremely high, and a major challenge is the magnetic control problem of tokamaks. The device for controllable nuclear fusion is called a tokamak, and its function is to constrain high-temperature plasma, making the nuclear fusion reaction sustainable and controllable. With the increase of nuclear fusion reactors, tokamak devices are becoming increasingly complex, and the operational requirements for their internal configuration are becoming higher. Moreover, this control process is nonlinear, real-time changing, and multivariable, which traditional calculation methods are difficult to handle.
Last February, the artificial intelligence company DeepMind collaborated with the Plasma Center of the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne to publish a paper titled "Magnetic Control of Tokamak Plasma through Deep Reinforcement Learning" in the journal Nature. The paper showed that artificial intelligence technologies such as deep learning and reinforcement learning can help achieve high-precision control of Tokamak devices, making human dreams of an "artificial sun" come true as soon as possible.
Fully superconducting tokamak fusion experimental setup
In the cutting-edge field of quantum computing, artificial intelligence also has significant value. It can optimize the software and hardware design of quantum computing applications, improve the efficiency and accuracy of quantum technology applications. "There is a mutually reinforcing and interdependent relationship between artificial intelligence and quantum computing. In the future, with the development of technology in these two fields, this relationship will become even closer and more complex," said Zhang Xu.
Five suggestions to seize historical opportunities
Looking ahead to the next 10 years, disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and controllable nuclear fusion will achieve and iteratively break through each other. Can China seize this historical opportunity period? As a technology strategy expert, Zhang Xu proposed five suggestions——
Coordinate the layout of energy bases and computing power, and form the basic competitiveness of artificial intelligence development. Compared with other countries, a unique advantage of China is the cool climate in the western region and the abundant and clean electricity resources. To fully utilize this advantage, we need to promote projects such as "East Calculation and West Calculation", build a number of computing power factories in the west, and form a low-cost computing power network that combines supercomputing, intelligent computing, and even future quantum computing, providing a competitive foundation for the development of technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Synchronize and support diversified technological routes, forming an overall ability to cope with rapid technological changes. The development of disruptive technologies is characterized by "emergence", making it difficult to predict which technology route and which enterprise will win. Before the route is clear, multiple technological forces from different directions should be deployed, adhering to original innovation while maintaining the ability to quickly follow up on any technological route.
Proactively design highly challenging scenarios to guide more long-term and innovative technological breakthroughs. The modernization process in our country has provided numerous opportunities for scientists. Major tasks such as lunar bases, Mars exploration, and deep-sea exploration will bring exciting scenarios for the development of strong artificial intelligence. Long term goals and important milestones should be set to motivate scientists to carry out long-term and innovative research.
Strengthen collaboration with enterprises as the core and enhance the control of disruptive technological ecosystems. Enterprises are sensitive to the market, have strong resource allocation capabilities, and are best able to seize the opportunities of technological revolution. In the United States, the dominant forces in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and controllable nuclear fusion are all enterprises. China has also emerged a group of world-class technology leaders. We need to guide enterprises to strengthen basic research, form collaborative capabilities with high-level universities and research institutions, and strengthen inter enterprise cooperation to build a disruptive technology innovation ecosystem with leading enterprises as the core.
Make every effort to promote international exchange and cooperation, introduce more high-level talents, deeply integrate into the international innovation ecosystem, and make China a global hub for disruptive technological change.
The Solution to Changes: Global Technology Think Tank Thought Observation has been released.
At the seminar, the "Solution to the Changing Situation: An Observation of Global Science and Technology Think Tanks", led by the Shanghai Institute of Science, and jointly completed by Fudan University, Tongji University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Science and Technology Management Cadres, Moscow State Lemonosov University, and other institutions, was also released. This book revolves around the topic of "What Global Science and Technology Think Tanks Are Researching" and is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on introducing the research achievements of 12 representative science and technology think tanks worldwide in promoting science and technology development, promoting science and technology applications, strengthening science and technology governance, and helping countries compete in science and technology in the past five years. The second part focuses on analyzing the representative issues of global science and technology think tank research, aiming to provide reference for the development and scientific decision-making of science and technology think tanks in China through the analysis of science and technology think tank issues and plans.
