In the AI Era, What Are the Entrepreneurial Opportunities and Challenges?
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Artificial intelligence is profoundly reshaping our lives and work. As entrepreneurs, we must carefully navigate this transformation and effectively leverage AI technologies to enhance business competitiveness.
With clear themes and intentions, algorithm-generated illustrations enable AI entrepreneurship to bring immense convenience to numerous fields.
In globalized business operations, establishing trusting and collaborative relationships with diverse talents is crucial. Maintaining an attitude of respect, trust, and unconditional regard is particularly vital. This article aims to share unique insights on AI entrepreneurship anxiety, corporate AI strategies, and global business operations, helping readers gain a deeper understanding of AI's role in today's enterprises and learn how to formulate effective AI strategies to address future challenges.
Additionally, the author's profound reflections on global business provide valuable inspiration for entrepreneurs looking to successfully expand their operations worldwide.
AI-native products refer to those that fully leverage the advantages of AI technology to create entirely new products or services, thereby profoundly transforming how people live and work. These products are not merely simple AI applications, but innovative creations that leverage AI technology to enhance user experience, improve production efficiency, and pioneer entirely new business models.
Taking the OpenAI GPT-3 model as an example, it not only possesses the ability to understand and generate natural language but can also perform various tasks such as text generation, image recognition, and speech synthesis, providing people with unprecedented interaction methods and information access experiences.
With the continuous advancement of AI technology, AI-native products have extremely broad application areas, not limited to any specific field or industry. They will be widely utilized across multiple sectors including healthcare, education, finance, and transportation. When seeking opportunities in AI-native products, we need to pay special attention to those that combine AI technology with other fields of technology, thereby creating entirely new business models and commercial opportunities.
Taking the medical field as an example, we can integrate AI technology with medical imaging technology to create AI products capable of automatically identifying and analyzing medical images, providing doctors with more accurate and efficient diagnostic tools.
In the financial sector, by combining AI technology with big data technology, we can develop AI products that automatically identify and analyze market trends and risks, offering investors more accurate and efficient decision-making tools. Therefore, in the process of seeking and developing AI-native products, we should focus on those that can fully utilize the advantages of AI technology to create entirely new products or services that transform how people live and work.
At the same time, we need to be adept at identifying and seizing opportunities where AI technology intersects with other fields, to pioneer new business models and commercial opportunities.
We previously discussed offline how to optimize text-based processing, especially in simple content searches. In the AI era, we can use artificial intelligence to enhance text comprehension and recognition capabilities, and leverage generative AI to create new content - this represents AI's unique value proposition. Someone once mentioned that every application is worth reinventing with AI, and I couldn't agree more.
Moreover, tasks that were previously unattainable now have new possibilities with the support of AI technology. AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) is the most vivid example. We can now generate images or even videos from text.
I never imagined that simple instructions could produce such high-quality content, and I was once a skeptic of AIGC. Now, I believe it brings unprecedented convenience to content creation and helps creators produce new works. For example, not long ago I saw an illustration shared by a blogger on Xiaohongshu. Although I initially believed that only human-created artworks could convey deep meaning and themes, seeing him instantly generate images using AIGC technology changed my perspective. AIGC not only generates images but also provides creators with an entirely new approach.
Previously, creators needed to draw their ideas themselves. Now, they only need to define the theme and intention, and the algorithm handles the rest.
This undoubtedly brings tremendous convenience to creators. By simply describing their creative concepts, the algorithm can generate illustrations. This is precisely the transformative experience AIGC offers today. ① Understanding the Market Environment
In the context of the current entrepreneurial environment in the AI field, especially considering the emergence of new technologies like Chat GPT, I believe it is necessary to conduct a thorough discussion.
From a macro perspective, we are in the midst of a wave of technological innovation, providing entrepreneurs with unprecedented opportunities. However, opportunities and challenges coexist, which also means that the difficulty and risks of entrepreneurship have increased accordingly. In the field of AI, especially for application-layer entrepreneurs, it is crucial to understand the current market conditions.
Compared to the previous generation of tool-based entrepreneurs, the barriers to entry in AI are relatively higher, requiring certain technical expertise and team capabilities.
The complexity and high costs of AI technology necessitate that entrepreneurs focus more on practical applications and commercialization, rather than just staying at the conceptual or laboratory stage.
I believe Chinese entrepreneurs possess unique advantages. First, the Chinese community's passion for technology and innovation has never waned, which is a crucial driving force for entrepreneurship. Second, the Chinese community also has inherent advantages in cultural exchange and internationalization, which helps us better integrate into the global market and technological exchanges.
We must recognize the current market competition and challenges. Compared with international peers, there may be certain gaps in some aspects, and we need to work harder to catch up.
For Chinese entrepreneurs, seizing opportunities in the AI field requires qualities such as innovative thinking, technical capabilities, business acumen, and market insight. Only in this way can we stand out in the fierce market competition and realize our entrepreneurial dreams. ② Avoiding Capital Losses
From an investor's perspective, we should avoid investing capital in companies that are destined to lose money.
The recent popularity of ChatGPT technology has led to fierce competition among many companies in the primary market. However, this competition has not created effective barriers. In such a perfectly competitive market, each participant's pricing standards will eventually approach cost levels, and this situation will intensify when backend operations are involved. Taking coffee as an example, if the service merely helps users carry their coffee from the Starbucks counter to their hands, they might not be willing to pay for it—they could just do it themselves. Therefore, we need to explore areas that complement ChatGPT to uncover more business opportunities.
Currently, many startups are still exploring this field, such as developing better vector databases, integrating with traditional databases, and providing Moore CM testing capabilities. These areas hold significant commercial potential, but no definitive conclusions have been reached yet.
Today, whether it's VCs or entrepreneurs, everyone needs to consider how to embrace AI. As a CEO, if asked about your AI strategy, it has become the norm. For traditional businesses or those seemingly unrelated to AI, many might think they are far from AI, but in reality, that's not the case. How to understand and apply AI is a major challenge before us.
Over the past 12 months, I have observed that clients have shown considerable enthusiasm for AI. In the past, when you mentioned AI to businesses, they were often skeptical or even resistant, making it difficult to advance AI applications.
Since the emergence of ChatGPT, clients have begun to actively consider how to leverage new technologies to enhance their market competitiveness, which is a very positive shift. Our company's internal stance on AI is very clear. We are facing a palpable sense of anxiety, which I personally feel particularly strongly. After all, the systems and technology stacks we've spent years building require us to have the courage to accept challenges when confronted with emerging technologies.
Winning and losing are normal; the key is to be clear about where we've succeeded and where we've failed.
Facing our shortcomings and improving upon them, especially when we're carrying some baggage, is a very difficult thing. Seven or eight years ago, we had no baggage and dared to confront problems head-on. But as time has passed, we've accumulated some things and have also begun to fear losing them. I believe we need to be brave and mature, constantly pushing ourselves and our teams forward. Regarding AI, we should feel anxious but also approach it rationally.
When discussing the question "what is your AI strategy," I'd like to cite the perspective of a Stanford professor who insightfully pointed out that AI is a tool.
Indeed, we don't get troubled by questions like "what is my Home Depot strategy" - we know Home Depot is a physical store for purchasing home improvement products. AI should not be a strategy but rather a tool to enhance work efficiency and innovation.
We should focus more on how to help people better understand the practical uses of this tool and how to make it easily accessible to everyone.
In practice, there are two main issues to address: first, how to help employees better understand the value of this tool, and second, how to ensure everyone can easily access it. Therefore, I believe that if an enterprise wants to formulate an AI strategy, it should start by making it easier for employees to access and understand AI technology.
We need to create a more inclusive and dynamic environment where employees can quickly experiment with AI models and see practical results.
At the same time, we also recognize that AI platforms and algorithms cannot solve all business problems. Ultimately, our goal is to make these tools as commonly used as daily necessities—convenient and practical. Establishing companies and conducting business globally requires collaboration with top talents from diverse backgrounds. However, working with talents from different cultures and backgrounds brings challenges and experiences. As company leaders, we need to understand how to build mutual trust and cooperative relationships with talents from various backgrounds to ensure stable company growth.
First, we need to recognize that despite our different cultural backgrounds, we are all human beings with shared humanity and values. Therefore, we need to find common ground and a basis for mutual respect through communication and interaction, and build trust and cooperation on this foundation.
Second, as leaders, we need to demonstrate stability and reliability, making employees believe they can trust us and that we will support them behind the company. In this process, we need to focus on practice and feedback, continuously adjusting our leadership styles and strategies to ensure the stable development of the company. Then, we should not see ourselves as different, but strive to integrate into the team and company culture, establishing good communication and cooperative relationships with employees. Avoid labeling ourselves with too many tags and identities, and instead work to build sincere friendships and cooperative relationships with employees.
Finally, we should always maintain an attitude of respect, trust, and unconditional regard, honoring each person's values and cultural background, and building mutual trust and cooperative relationships on this foundation. At the same time, we firmly believe in our employees' capabilities and potential, offering them sufficient room for growth and comprehensive support. Only by doing so can we successfully establish and operate companies on a global scale.
That concludes today's sharing. Thank you!