Jack Ma Appears at School: "In the AI Era, Children Should Nurture Curiosity, Not Compete in Memorization"

Jack Ma, Alibaba Founder, Visits School with Executives
"AI Era Arrives Quickly... Opportunity to Return Education to Its Essence"
"Children Should Not Compete with AI in Calculation and Memorization"

Alibaba founder Jack Ma visited frontline schools at the start of the new semester and shared his views on education in the era of artificial intelligence (AI).

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, visited frontline schools welcoming the new semester and shared his views on education in the era of artificial intelligence (AI). Wingu Education WeChat

According to Yonhap News on March 3, citing China Business Network and other sources, "Jack Ma, along with top executives of Alibaba Group and Ant Group, visited a school in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, one day before the start of the semester and discussed the challenges and opportunities brought by the development of AI with teachers for over an hour."

On this day, Jack Ma said, "The era of AI has already arrived rapidly, and the impact on society is beyond imagination," adding, "None of us are fully prepared, but teenagers hold the greatest hope and expectations for change." Referring to future projections such as 'people will not need to work eight hours a day' and 'while social wealth will increase significantly, many jobs may disappear,' he urged, "These changes could arrive very quickly, so we must adapt swiftly."

Jack Ma stated, "Although the impact of AI is enormous, the opportunities are also immense. AI has given us a chance to return education to its essence," explaining that "rather than spending time memorizing and reciting mechanically without understanding, we can now use that time to foster creativity and imagination." He also emphasized, "Children can spend more time playing and learning music, painting, and sports," and "in doing so, they can learn to share, develop sensitivity, gain experience, listen, and understand."

He said, "The criteria for determining whether a school is suitable for the AI era is not about how many AI servers or technologies it possesses," and continued, "AI has 'chip' (semiconductor), but humanity has 'heart'." Furthermore, he added, "Instead of making children compete with AI in calculation and memorization, we should help them maintain curiosity, learn empathy, and gain experiences," stressing that "curiosity, imagination, creativity, judgment, and aesthetic ability are the true skills we should nurture in children."

China's big tech company Alibaba Group. Reuters Yonhap News

Accompanying the visit were Joe Tsai, Chairman of Alibaba Group; Wu Yongming, CEO of Alibaba Group; Jiang Fan, CEO of the e-commerce business group; Jing Xiandong, Chairman of Ant Group; and Han Xinyi, CEO of Ant Group. The WinGu School they visited is a private institution operating from kindergarten through high school, reportedly funded by Alibaba’s founders. China Business Network described the gathering of all top executives from Alibaba Group and Ant Group in one place as a rare event.

Jack Ma, who had led Chinese Big Tech Alibaba Group, had virtually disappeared from public view since the start of the Chinese authorities' antitrust investigation at the end of 2020, but rumors circulated last year in the second half that he had returned to management. Regarding this, Bloomberg News commented, "Jack Ma's return signals that China's big tech industry is regaining the government's trust," and added, "Although it remains unclear whether he has officially returned to his position, his influence remains strong."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.