"AI+" How to Add More "Robust Increments"?

This year’s government work report for the first time proposed creating a new form of intelligent economy, and put forward specific pathways such as “promoting the rapid adoption of next-generation intelligent terminals and intelligent agents,” “supporting the development of open-source AI communities,” and “implementing new infrastructure projects like ultra-large-scale intelligent computing clusters and computing-electrical collaboration.”

At the press conference on the economy during the Fourth Session of the 14th National People’s Congress on March 6, Zheng Shanjie, Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, stated that the “Artificial Intelligence+” initiative will be deepened, and by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan, the scale of AI-related industries will grow to over 10 trillion yuan.

Amid the wave of the intelligent economy, how is AI accelerating from a “technological concept” to “actual productive force”? The Workers’ Daily interviewed three private entrepreneurs.

Continuous innovation, deepening application scenarios

Li Lecheng, Minister of Industry and Information Technology, said on March 5 during the first “Minister’s Passage” of the Fourth Session of the 14th National People’s Congress that this year, efforts will be made to vigorously promote “AI + manufacturing,” deeply explore high-value application scenarios, cultivate a number of high-level typical applications, and develop a batch of distinctive intelligent agents.

“Promoting ‘AI + manufacturing’ is crucial for traditional manufacturing industries to sustain innovation and improve their capabilities,” said Dong Mingzhu, Chairwoman of Gree Electric Appliances.

Dong Mingzhu explained that Gree Electric Appliances has adhered to independent innovation, introducing AI technology into industrial manufacturing since 2016, and now owns a “leading-level” smart factory. Last year, Gree’s self-developed “AI Dynamic Energy Saving Technology” was rated as internationally advanced and has been successfully applied to air conditioners, providing consumers with better energy-saving and comfort experiences.

“The deep integration of AI and manufacturing has effectively improved production efficiency and manufacturing precision, helping to launch high-quality products that meet consumers’ aspirations for a better life,” Dong Mingzhu said.

AI is not just transforming manufacturing; from education to healthcare, from office work to daily life, AI is accelerating from being a “tool” to becoming a “partner.”

“Practices in many places have fully demonstrated that AI technology can effectively assist family doctors in optimizing compliance management, achieving precise management of chronic diseases, and providing personalized health services to residents,” said Liu Qingfeng, Chairman of iFlytek, citing AI applications in healthcare scenarios. “For example, the ‘iFlytek Xiaoyi’ app, powered by the Spark Medical large model, is increasingly recognized by users. In the future, we will turn breakthroughs in large model capabilities into industry-leading applications, continuously expanding and deepening application scenarios.”

New business forms and models unleash new growth momentum

One-person companies, intelligent agents, human-machine collaboration… Currently, AI has spawned numerous new business forms and models, injecting new momentum into economic growth.

Technological breakthroughs first lead to the restructuring of work scenarios. “AI is fundamentally releasing individual capabilities, bringing a leap in productivity,” Liu Qingfeng said. For example, iFlytek has seen the emergence of a number of “super teams,” where a team with just one product manager and two front-end developers completed tasks that normally require 15 people over three months, producing 100,000 lines of high-quality code daily. “AI allows one person to accomplish what previously required a whole team,” he said.

Liu Qingfeng believes that in the next three to five years, AI will continue to generate new roles in fields like digital content and scientific research innovation, such as AI trainers, industry solution experts, human-machine operation officers, intelligent system maintenance engineers, and data governance and security specialists. “These roles highly depend on the deep integration of AI technology and industry experience, with the core being human-machine collaboration to create higher value,” he explained.

Zhou Hongyi, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and founder of Qihoo 360, stated that AI has moved from “big model capability competition” to the “scale application stage of intelligent agents.”

“Since the beginning of this year, intelligent agents are transitioning from concept to practical implementation,” Zhou said. “Currently, large models have evolved into capable ‘digital employees’ that consume reasoning power every second. As billion-level intelligent agents enter industrial scenarios, the importance of reasoning computing power becomes increasingly prominent.” He recommended optimizing reasoning power deployment to solidify the foundation for AI industry development.

Accelerating成果转化，改善创新生态

According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, by 2025, China’s core AI industry will exceed 1.2 trillion yuan, with over 6,200 enterprises. While promoting AI as a “key variable” to drive high-quality economic growth, what obstacles and challenges remain?

Zhou Hongyi found during research that large-scale deployment of intelligent agents still faces challenges such as high technical transformation thresholds, insufficient security capabilities, and a lack of versatile talent reserves. He suggested integrating models with industry tools on platforms, providing full-process services, and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in building vertical domain intelligent agents at low cost. Additionally, he emphasized the importance of a dual approach: promoting “AI +,” and cultivating talents who understand both AI and industry, to accelerate the implementation of the "AI + " initiative.

“Liu Qingfeng pointed out that some small and medium-sized enterprises lack the funds, talent, and technical reserves needed for AI application, making rapid digital transformation difficult,” he said. “Meanwhile, some AI products are detached from actual application needs, falling into ‘toy-level’ traps, and failing to truly integrate into industrial scenarios or generate real value.”

“The development of AI is a long-term exploration, full of opportunities and challenges, obstacles and hopes,” Liu said. “As long as we adhere to independent controllability, integrated hardware and software, industry depth, and personalized development, and continue to deepen technological innovation, strengthen scenario implementation, and build an open ecosystem, we can accelerate the transformation of AI technological achievements into real productivity, making AI a powerful engine for high-quality development.”

“Manufacturing is the foundation of the nation, and workers are the backbone of industry. Facing the AI wave, enterprises must take responsibility, and workers need to hone their ‘hard skills’ to meet the era and trend of technological innovation,” Dong Mingzhu said. “Gree Electric Appliances currently has nearly 20,000 R&D personnel and nearly 80,000 employees. We will continue to uphold the concept of自主培养人才, forging China’s strong自主创新能力 in manufacturing.”

Li Lecheng stated that China has complete industrial categories and abundant innovative talents. Especially, the innovation ecosystem is continuously improving, and more world-class intelligent products will be produced on this fertile land.