Q&A
Q&A
Shenzhou
2022.10.17
Exclusive interview with Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Wang Jian
- Today, for me, the data era has not arrived yet.
- What does the brain do? It is to help you complete things with the least amount of energy. Our current urban coordination function is like a person who has been hit and drinking water, which is an efficiency issue.
- Few people know that there are really young people in China who are bankrupt and are making recyclable rockets, and they are really flying.
Starting point
Just as all new technologies have to go through exploration and pioneering from scratch, the story of Wang Jian and Cloud computing is no exception, and the starting point of the story begins in 2008.
Wu Xiaoli: Some people say that you are a person who can see the essence through the fog, but when you were watching "Aliyun " in the early days, it might have been just a little inspiration.
Wang Jian: I really didn't know at that time, but I just felt that the original thing could no longer help you solve the problem. I definitely needed new things, but what the new thing is has not been well defined. At that time, cloud computing was a fashionable word, not a professional term. I went to , Alibaba to hold an important meeting, and it was confirmed at this meeting that data is a very important strategy for the company. But in the end, I asked Peng Lei if there are any written materials such as meeting minutes and other meeting materials to show me what you said? Peng Lei told me that there was no word. So you just think, this is the two heavens of ice and fire. founded "Ali Cloud", which was the decision I made without seeing a single word.
Wu Xiaoli interviews Wang Jian
Wang Jian, also the founder of "Ali Cloud",
Wu Xiaoli: Then how long did you know after you joined Alibaba in 2008 that Alibaba really has so much data here? But it all exists there, but there is no way to analyze and process it.
Wang Jian: I want to emphasize again that the amount of data is one thing, but there are two very important indicators in it, which are extremely tempting for cloud computing. The first thing to do in is that the year before I came, the server of Alibaba doubled. is extremely attractive to anyone who does cloud computing, and the logic of cloud computing is true. The second thing about was that Taobao had the largest Oracle RAC (real application cluster) in Asia, which can be said to be the database of Oracle, the largest in Asia. And they told me that even if this is the case with , their ability to process data cannot keep up with . So for a technology person, after you see the ceiling, you will definitely know that there is a chance.
Controversy
Wang Jian: For a while, everyone thought that "Ali Cloud" was not good, how could it not work? If you don’t have it, you will talk about HRs that “Ali Cloud” will not work anyway. You can go to “Ali Cloud” to poach people. I have a supervisor below who has a very good employee. Someone wants to poach him. The supervisor goes to talk to him, which means that "Aliyun" still needs to do a good job. Do you know what that employee said to the supervisor in the end? He said I want to tell you my heart today, and you should also go find a job quickly, and "Aliyun" is about to be disbanded. It’s all about what everyone can communicate to this, and this is what really happened.
Wu Xiaoli: When you were in trouble with internal and external affairs, did you care about people saying you were a "liar"?
Wang Jian: doesn’t even care or not, or use my old sayings, you can only pretend not to hear it. No one is a saint, and no one can accept it if someone points at the nose and scolds you in person. So the only thing you can do is to be unable to hear.
entered
Wu Xiaoli: I saw a message, which is that "Ali Cloud" surpasses some international institutions in both the Internet and in terms of computing. Is that true?
Wang Jian: must look at "Ali Cloud" from several different perspectives, one of which is comprehensive strength. Judging from comprehensive strength, we often say that there are only four cloud computing companies in the world, and many cloud computing manufacturers use so-called open source things, but when we wrote the " Feitian " computer operating system, there was no reference system, so after we made it, we exchanged a lot of time to do technology.
Wu Xiaoli: So do you think the profit of "Ali Cloud" in 2022 is just the beginning?
Wang Jian: I think it's time for a normal cycle. I think the industry life cycle of cloud computing is more than many other industries, and this is actually the beginning of cloud computing.
Focus
Wang Jian: How many so-called new technologies have we heard of in the past few years? Cloud computing, big data, and later artificial intelligence , blockchain, and today's meta-universe, . So I often say that in the past ten years, almost no new technology has been really settled. I agree very much with , the founder of Oracle , , Larry Ellison . At that time, he laughed at the saying of cloud computing, that he felt that new technologies cannot treat it as a fashion show, and you will take it off after you wear it. I said the most miserable thing about Larry Ellison at that time was that he thought cloud computing was a fashion show.
So this year, we are actually in such a fashion show environment for technology, our technology strategy focuses on cloud computing. Strategic focus requires great courage. You may also focus on the wrong ones, but you still need to focus. is used as an example. Weiran has indeed changed a lot, but it can only talk about cloud first because it has a lot of businesses, so I think it still has many decentralized goals.
Amazon is of course our role model, but so far today, it is difficult for me to say when our earnings will be the same as it. We still have a long way to go. But there is one thing that I think we still have a good advantage. "Fei Tian" is a data-centric cloud computing operating system, but it also solves the IT-centric cloud computing problem that Amazon wants to solve. So from this perspective, we have the ability to solve the problems we need to solve in our technical system.
Data Era
Not coming yet
Wang Jian: To me, the data era has not arrived yet. When it really comes, the advantage we hide behind today is something that Amazon may not be able to catch up.
Wu Xiaoli: The era of data has not arrived yet?
Wang Jian: pair, it has not arrived yet. Today, there are about 20 million servers in data centers across China. So what does "the data era arrives" mean? That is, at least more than half of these 20,000 servers are used to process data, rather than to provide so-called Internet services.
Wu Xiaoli: What is the current ratio?
Wang Jian: Actually no one has calculated it carefully now, I guess it must be single digits. Now we just build OA, work, then publish a manuscript, and open a website. These have nothing to do with the data.
Current urban coordination function
Like a stroked person drinking water
Relying on cloud computing technology, since 2016, Wang Jian proposed " Urban Brain " as the concept of the future new digital infrastructure. Now he is also constantly promoting the layout and construction of the "urban brain".
Wu Xiaoli: I am actually very curious. What you are talking about is not a "smart city", but a "urban brain".
Wang Jian: I often ask, what is the most important function of the brain? Later, an expert was engaged in biology and summarized it for me. I think it is very good. He said we took a cup to drink water, which was a very important synergy for my whole body, and it seemed very simple. But a person who has suffered a stroke will be very laborious and will consume a lot of his energy. He said, what does the brain of do? It is to help you complete things with the least amount of energy. The coordination function of our city now is like a person who has been hit and drinking water. This is an efficiency issue.
Wang Jian: I think that the city has developed to this day and needs to be effectively utilized. You need to save resources. What do you rely on to save? In my words, it is to save it by by computing. I want to say something that may be more extreme. If does not have a "urban brain", at least I have not seen a path to reaching the dual carbon goal. First, most of our world's carbon emissions occur in cities; second, more importantly, without the "urban brain", we actually cannot know where carbon emissions come from, which has something to do with transportation. In the past, no city in the world has ever really counted how many cars were on the road at a certain moment. This question later became a turning point, and later it went from motor vehicle ownership to on-road volume. When this number is calculated, it actually subverts everyone's perception - even at peak times, only 10% of the cars are on the road.
Wu Xiaoli: Then understand how to reduce traffic congestion after the traffic volume?
Wang Jian: The volume on the way can be decomposed to each road. You will find that a lot of congestion is caused by accidents, such as accidents, and for example, there is a bus lane. There may actually not be many people taking that bus, so this is a view to re-viewing all problems.
Wu Xiaoli: It is to make urban planning and construction "smart".
Wang Jian: Planning and construction are both static, and in fact, we must make this city truly a dynamic and functional city. When I first started working in the city brain, others asked me, what standards do you use to measure this matter has reached a stage, and I said, will not be restricted in Hangzhou on one day, and this matter has reached a paragraph for me. , such as , Nanchang , I have been to Nanchang many times myself, and my colleagues in Nanchang came here to see it. They really canceled the 10-year restriction regulations for Nanchang. After Nanchang lifted the traffic restrictions, there were a little more cars in the urban area, about 5,000 cars. However, through data-based means, we can know that these 5,000 cars will not increase congestion, and in fact, it meets the needs of ordinary people to travel to the city.
ToYoung people:
There are many problems and many opportunities
2050 Conference was a volunteer organization initiated by Wang Jian in 2017. Its main purpose is to make the world pay attention to the innovation of young people and the views of young people on the future.
Wang Jian: We may say Eron Musk , but few people know that There are really young people in China who are bankrupt in making recyclable rockets, and they really fly. So in the 2050 conference, most young people don’t know where their future is, but they are worried about the future of mankind. So do you think there are those people in China? There are really those people. I met these people through the 2050 Conference. I think everyone should know these people. My endless joy is in this place.
Wu Xiaoli: For young people today, what do you want to say to them the most in the process of seeking breakthroughs?
Wang Jian: Back to my personal experience, the two cases I want to tell them the most. The first thing is, from the perspective of cloud computing, I also did something that was a big deal. wanted to do cloud computing at that time, and everyone went to Silicon Valley to find someone to come back to do it. , but at that time, first, we didn’t have that much money, second, the people who can really do these are also something you can count. So at that time, most people actually graduated shortly. This is what I personally feel most gratifying.
The second thing is that the problems created by the world of are far more than those solved by our past technologies. is precisely because of so many problems that the next generation of young people will definitely have more opportunities than us if they come from the perspective of creation and innovation. I have read a report from the United Nations that 50% of the people in the world are under 30 years old, and this world is created by these people.
Producer: Hanyan
Director: Meiyuan
Editor: Meng Han
Editor: Meng Han
