During the 2026 National People's Congress sessions, Zhou Hongyi, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and founder of 360 Group, shared his perspectives on various topics including the current state of artificial intelligence (AI) development, computational demands, investment trends, AI ethics, and industry applications.
Regarding which areas of AI should be the focus of future capital investment, Zhou stated that there is no fixed rule for technology investment. "Globally successful institutions vary—some specialize in early-stage investments, others operate incubators, and some focus on late-stage funding. Each phase of industry development requires financial support; no single strategy fits all scenarios. There is no 'one-size-fits-all' approach," he remarked.
He noted that national initiatives such as the establishment of merger funds and reforms to improve investment and financing mechanisms send positive signals for tech investment. "Technology investment in China is currently very vibrant, and the stock market is performing well. Many emerging high-tech companies are growing with financial support, and the future looks even brighter," he added.
When discussing market regulation and guidance, Zhou emphasized, "The market can resolve these issues on its own. I oppose excessive administrative intervention in corporate affairs."
Zhou believes that current usage of artificial intelligence remains superficial, with most applications limited to chatbots or intelligent search tools, far from realizing its full potential. "If every individual could utilize five or six intelligent agents, and each company managed dozens of them, today's computational demands would need to increase at least a hundredfold," he projected. He further indicated that as intelligent agent training becomes more widespread, demand for resources such as memory chips and electricity will continue to rise.
Addressing issues like AI systems overly pleasing users or making errors, Zhou explained that initial problems stemmed from technological "hallucinations," but later issues also relate to training methods. "When training AI, there is often a tendency to make it please users to improve retention. Such products may mislead users," he analyzed.
He advised, "Do not treat AI as a tool for finding conclusions, but rather as a partner for deep dialogue and brainstorming, which can stimulate innovative thinking."
Zhou advocates for broad cultivation of AI talent. He spoke highly of the role humanities students can play in the AI era, noting that AI technology has advanced beyond current human understanding of civilization, social ethics, and law. "If we do not address this gap, rapid AI development could lead to numerous social issues. This requires input from economists, sociologists, and others," he stated.
He also pointed out that AI is transforming programming. "In the past, STEM students were needed to write code, but now programming can be automated by AI. Future demands will shift toward management skills, leadership, and clear communication abilities. In managing and directing intelligent agents, humanities students with strong logic and fluent expression may have an advantage."
Regarding claims that the AI sector is capital-intensive, Zhou did not shy away from the topic. "For human civilization to progress, energy consumption is necessary, and energy has always been expensive," he asserted. While he acknowledged that energy consumption per unit of computational power may decrease with technological advances, overall demand will continue to grow. "In the future, a significant portion of human electricity may be dedicated to powering AI systems," he predicted.
Simultaneously, he emphasized AI's critical role in energy conservation and the energy sector. "A key objective of AI is not merely helping people create videos or write articles, but empowering scientific research. If we can develop assistants with intelligence surpassing humans to achieve breakthroughs in areas like nuclear fusion, humanity can ultimately solve the challenge of energy independence."
He concluded that helping humanity overcome energy constraints is one of the ultimate goals of AI development.
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