端粒（Telomere）是染色体末端的保护帽，帮助细胞保持健康，由重复的 DNA 序列和相关蛋白组成。
为了更直观地理解，不妨想象一下鞋带。端粒就像鞋带末端的塑料套，看似毫不起眼，却默默守护着鞋带的完整性，保护我们的 DNA 不受损坏或纠缠。细胞每一次分裂，就如同鞋带在日常使用中不断受到摩擦，端粒也会随之逐渐变短，恰似塑料套慢慢磨损。当塑料套被磨没了，鞋带就会从末端散开，直到没法用了。同理，随着时间的推移，当端粒变得太短时，细胞就无法正常工作。端粒与衰老和某些疾病的产生有着千丝万缕的联系。
Is it data? Algorithms? Computing power? While these elements are essential, they are not the true core of the AI era. The real game-changer is decision quality.
AI has transitioned from the lab to the real world not just because it can process vast amounts of data or execute complex calculations, but because it has fundamentally improved the way decisions are made. This leap in decision-making capability is what’s reshaping industries, transforming our daily lives, and defining the future of technology.
Go Battle: The Pinnacle of AI Decision-Making
Remember the Go* match that shocked the world in 2016? AlphaGo played against the top human player Lee Sedol. Since then, no human has ever defeated AI in the world of Go. AlphaGo’s victory is not accidental. Every move it made was a carefully calculated decision. Unlike human players, who rely on intuition, experience, and real-time judgment, AI evaluates countless possibilities, predicting dozens — or even hundreds — of moves ahead. This duel was more than the victory or defeat of a Go game; it marked a revolution in decision-making itself.
*Go, an ancient Chinese strategy game is played with black and white stones, where the player who controls the most territory wins. Known as the “King of Board Games,” it embodies art, wisdom, and deep philosophy.
Autonomous Driving: AI Decision-Making in the Real World
The improvement in the quality of AI decision-making is not only reflected on the chessboard but also in our daily lives. Autonomous driving is one of the best examples.
What is the core of autonomous driving? It is the perfect fusion of perception and decision-making.
The limitations of human driving: Humans rely on our eyes to navigate the road, but our field of vision is limited and blind spots are unavoidable. We use our ears to detect sounds, yet distractions — music, conversations, or outside noise — often distract us. More critically, human learning is finite. Once we learn to drive, few of us refine our driving skills further. Fatigue, stress, and emotions like road rage further increase accident risks.
Advantages of AI driving: In contrast, AI-driven cars are equipped with multiple cameras, radars and sensors that provide a 360-degree view of the surrounding environment without blind spots. AI doesn’t get distracted, fatigued, or emotional. Unlike humans, it learns and optimizes continuously, adapting to complex road conditions, and improving safety over time. Eventually, AI-driven cars will surpass human drivers in reliability and efficiency.
From the strategic brilliance of Go to the precision of autonomous vehicles, AI is changing the way the world works with more efficient and accurate decisions. AI is transforming decision-making across every domain. As AI systems become more advanced, making faster and more accurate choices than ever before, they are redefining how the world operates.
As AI decision-making seeps into every corner of life, the real question is: How can we find our place in this wave? In this AI-driven revolution, are you ready?
Special Notes
Over the past 20 years, I have had the privilege of working with founders, investors, and technical teams from technology companies worldwide, particularly in China, the United States, Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, and beyond. Given the diverse national and cultural backgrounds, misunderstandings are sometimes inevitable, especially when it comes to perceptions of China.
To bridge this gap, starting this year, I have decided to regularly share insights from thought leaders in China’s tech industry, offering cutting-edge perspectives and unique viewpoints.
My aim is to foster deeper mutual understanding and break down unnecessary barriers. After all, in an era of rapid AI advancements, humanity must work together to navigate the complexities of intelligent technologies and jointly build a brighter future.
Liang Ning Introduction
The above content is compiled based on Liang Ning’s understanding of the AI era.
Liang Ning is an outstanding business thinker in China’s technology field. In her 20s, she worked with Academician Ni Guangnan to develop China’s domestic chips and operating systems. Later, she founded a well-known outdoor travel portal, Green Man. After the website was acquired by Tencent, she served as Tencent’s product manager. After leaving in 2014, she focused on in-depth research of enterprises.
What is the first book you’ve read in 2025? If you’re unsure, perhaps your AI assistant can help!
My AI assistant recommended The Myth of Sisyphus, a philosophical essay by French writer Albert Camus.
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus, the son of Aeolus, the god of wind, angered Zeus and was condemned to an eternal punishment. Each day, he was forced to push a boulder up a mountain, only for it to roll back down just before reaching the summit — an endless cycle of monotonous and seemingly futile labour.
Logically, one might expect Sisyphus to fall into despair from such an unrelenting and purposeless task.
But one day, as Sisyphus descended the mountain to begin again, the goddess of love passed by and noticed him smiling and in high spirits. Surprised, she asked, “How can you be so happy while doing something so repetitive and dull?”
With excitement, Sisyphus pointed to a beautiful flower in his hand and replied, “Look! I found this on the mountainside. Isn’t it wonderful?”
Sisyphus pushed the boulder endlessly, knowing it would never stay at the top, yet the mountain paths he traversed, the flowers he picked, and the fresh air he breathed were all real and tangible gifts. These moments were not in vain.
Isn’t life the same? It’s a tapestry woven from daily moments — our joys and sorrows, frustrations and happiness, triumphs and setbacks, all intertwined. If we focus solely on distant, seemingly unreachable goals and rush through life, we risk overlooking the quiet beauty that blooms along the way.
In 2025, let us fully embrace each moment with intention and cultivate inner peace. Let’s not miss the countless small surprises that are uniquely ours to discover. Let our hearts grow soft and sensitive, shedding unnecessary vigilance around us and embracing every aspect of life.
Together, let’s live this year with a sense of serenity and fulfillment.
Recently, the global media has been flooded with talk of the threat of artificial intelligence. A Google search for “AI threats” turned up more than 270 million related contents in 34 seconds.
American economist Robert Solow once said, “People always overestimate the short-term benefits brought by a technology but underestimate its long-term impact.” Here I use a story “No Touch Love” to discuss about the long-term impact of AI empowerment on humanity.
Story: No Touch Love
The story takes place in 2042, in the post-coronavirus era, people have to learn coexist with viruses. Chinese “fist-holding salute “has become an internationally popular etiquette because it does not require physical contact.
Chinese “fist-holding salute”
In that era, many people barely left their homes, and all their daily living could be met by unmanned express delivery and household robots. Some people no longer pursue full-time jobs but live a satisfying life by accepting part-time jobs such as designing skins and props for VR games. For example, the heroine in the story — Chen Nan.
Chen Nan, who is based in Singapore, witnessed the death of her grandfather, grandmother and both parents during the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, which caused mental trauma and suffered from a phobia that isolated herself from the world.
Despite this, Chen Nan still longs to be loved. She fell in love with a young man from Brazil, Garcia, online, a kind of contactless spiritual love. Whenever Garcia asked to meet offline, Chen Nan refused again and again because she was extremely afraid of being intimate with her lover.
To help his loved one to overcome her fears and prove that even huge culture differences cannot stop the love between them, Garcia even registered a virtual avatar that replicates 100% of his own image, down to his poles and scars. He put his AI-powered avatar into a Singaporean city simulator and lives his life like an ordinary Singaporean. He was proficient in using various local applications and complying with local regulations and guidelines. However, when he again requested to meet Chen Nan offline, he was still rejected.
AI 2041
The story ends here. If you are interested in how Garcia uses various AI applications to win Chen Nan, you can read the book “AI 2041”co-authored by Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan.
Kai-Fu Lee is the founder of Innovation Factory, which Time magazine listed him as one of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence in 2023. Chen Qiufan is a sci-fi author, screenwriter, translator, and curator who was nominated for the second Sanlian Humanities City Award in 2023.
AI Technology that Makes People’s Lives Easier
Bio-Sensitive Film
In the future, we no longer need to always carry a variety of physiological data monitoring instruments. We only need a thin bio-sensing film. This kind of film, which is attached to the inside of the wrist, can display various physiological data in real time (including whether the vaccine in the body is effective), and it is a Digital Health Profile (DHP) certified by the national medical institution.
Digital Medical Records
Birth, old age, sickness and death are inevitable experiences in life. Digital medical records will greatly improve the efficiency of communication between doctors and patients, as well as the effectiveness of disease diagnosis and treatment. In the future, our biochemical data will be collected through various sensors.
For example, bio-sensor film can obtain body temperature, heart rate, bioelectricity, and other parameters. Micro-sensors enter the body in the form of capsules, and can perform blood testing, cell sampling, and monitoring tumor markers, without the need of invasive operations. Even human excrement can be analyzed for its composition through the smart toilets.
In addition, all data will be transmitted to the cloud and reports will be automatically generated by the medical AI, and the transmission process will be encrypted to prevent theft by criminals.
Will Artificial Intelligence Threaten Human Existence
As artificial intelligence becomes more and more powerful, we can’t help but wonder: Will AI pose a threat to human existence?
There are ongoing debates about this in the philosophical community, but it is broadly believed that if AI has self-awareness, then the end of mankind will not be far away. The definition of self-awareness varies. However, it has the following characteristics that are unanimously agreed:
（1）Able to describe the surrounding environment and things through language, and make corresponding evaluations.
（2）The ability to reflect on oneself.
Once artificial intelligence has self-awareness, it means that it can think independently, understand the meta-theorems and meta-rules of things, and is no longer bound by the rules and definitions of the human world.
On the one hand, we are looking forward to the various conveniences brought by the continuous enhancement of AI functions, such as smart homes, smart robots, smart transportation and so on, but on the other hand, we are worried that the singularity of AI with self-awareness is approaching.
When discussing the future of artificial intelligence, although it is full of uncertainties and challenges, we can remain optimistic, face it with an open mind, look at the situation with a smile. There is no need to overthink, and what should come will come naturally.
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” F. Scott Fitgerald
What are your plans for this week? What tasks need to be completed? Priorities?
