Ask Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei for his tackle AI in China and the mountain of difficulties dealing with his firm, and also you get stunning solutions.
“I haven’t thought of it,” says Ren, in a Q&A with Chinese language media outlet People’s Daily. “It’s ineffective to consider it.”
In a world obsessive about five-year plans and disaster administration, his recommendation is nearly jarring in its simplicity: “Don’t take into consideration the difficulties. Simply do it and transfer ahead step-by-step.”
This isn’t only a private mantra; it’s the blueprint for a way Huawei is navigating a storm of worldwide sanctions and blockades. It’s a quiet dedication that ripples via all his solutions.
When the dialog shifts to Huawei’s superior Ascend AI chips, he’s virtually brutally trustworthy. He doesn’t boast. Actually, he believes the hype has gotten forward of actuality.
“The US has exaggerated Huawei’s achievements. Huawei isn’t that nice but,” he admits, noting that their greatest chips are nonetheless a era behind.
So what do you do when you possibly can’t purchase the perfect instruments? Based on Ren, you get smarter with those you’ve gotten. He explains that Huawei is leaning on its brilliance in software program and arithmetic to shut the {hardware} hole in AI and past.
“We use arithmetic to make up for physics,” he says, describing a technique of utilizing code and linking chips collectively in highly effective clusters to realize outcomes that may compete with the easiest. Ingenuity born from necessity.
This grounded perspective applies to individuals as a lot because it does to merchandise. In an age of relentless company promotion, Ren is cautious of the highlight. “We’re additionally below lots of stress when individuals reward us,” he reveals. “We shall be extra sober when individuals criticise us.”
He sees criticism of Huawei not as an assault, however as a present from the individuals who truly use their merchandise. It’s an indication of a wholesome relationship. His focus stays unwavering: “Don’t care about reward or criticism, however care about whether or not you are able to do nicely.”
However the actual coronary heart of Ren’s imaginative and prescient, the concept really animates him, lies in one thing a lot deeper and slower than the following product cycle: primary scientific analysis. He speaks about it with the eagerness of a thinker, arguing it’s the very soul of progress.
“If we don’t do primary analysis, we could have no roots,” he warns. “Even when the leaves are lush and flourishing, they’ll fall down when the wind blows.”
For Huawei, these usually are not simply poetic phrases. They’re backed by large funding. Out of an annual R&D finances of 180 billion yuan (round $25 billion) a full third of it – 60 billion yuan (~$8.34 billion) – is poured into theoretical analysis. That is cash spent with out the expectation of a right away return, a long-term guess on the facility of human curiosity. It’s an funding in a future which may be many years away.
Trying towards that future, Ren sees AI as a monumental shift not only for Huawei however for humanity. He believes China is well-positioned for this new period, not simply due to its know-how, however due to its highly effective infrastructure and, most significantly, its individuals.
Ren imagines a future the place the actual breakthroughs in AI gained’t simply come from programmers in tech giants like Huawei, however from specialists in each subject – medical doctors, engineers, and even miners – utilizing AI to resolve real-world issues.
His optimism is infectious. He recollects an op-ed by New York Occasions columnist Thomas L. Friedman who departed China and revealed an article earlier this 12 months with a title that requires no additional clarification: ‘I Simply Noticed the Future. It Was Not in America.’
Ren Zhengfei appears to be a frontrunner who has discovered a way of calm within the eye of the storm. His focus isn’t on the shifting political winds, however on the gradual, regular work of constructing one thing with deep roots, prepared for regardless of the future holds. Step by affected person step.
(Picture credit score: European Union below CC BY 4.0 license. Picture cropped for impact.)
See additionally: Hugging Face companions with Groq for ultra-fast AI mannequin inference
Wish to be taught extra about AI and massive knowledge from business leaders? Take a look at AI & Big Data Expo happening in Amsterdam, California, and London. The great occasion is co-located with different main occasions together with Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.
Discover different upcoming enterprise know-how occasions and webinars powered by TechForge here.
