The process of building AI within large organizations often involves common, systemic challenges, according to Yousu (pseudonym), the author of the widely circulated article "Inside DingTalk." She has published a new social media post addressing recent controversies and sharing her latest reflections. "Many old and new friends have reached out to me recently, and the happiest news I've heard is that unproductive working hours have reportedly been reduced," Yousu wrote in her new post titled "Clouds May Not Be Empty," one week after "Inside DingTalk" went viral.
Yousu, a former AI product manager at Alibaba's DingTalk, previously published a 70,000-word article detailing the entire process—from initiation to scaling back—of the core confidential project "DingTalk ONE," along with the underlying organizational culture issues. The article sparked extensive discussion on Alibaba's internal network, prompting a response from the Alibaba Partnership Committee, which stated that DingTalk's management was "not what Alibaba's culture should be." Subsequently, DingTalk's former CEO, Chen Hang (known as "Wuzhao"), stepped down.
In addition to the leadership change, DingTalk has recently made minor adjustments to its organizational management approach. Yousu revealed in her new article that she recently received a small red envelope from an unfamiliar former colleague, forwarded through a mutual friend, as a gesture to buy her coffee. "It turns out he finally has more time to spend with his family, especially his growing child, because the internal post sparked attention and discussion. Now, DingTalk employees can leave work an hour earlier on weekdays and are not required to work on weekends unless necessary," she shared.
Many netizens and even family members of DingTalk employees have expressed gratitude for the "early off-work" policy resulting from "Inside DingTalk." One comment read, "Restaurants near the Alibaba center have been toasting you these past two days."
In her new post, Yousu explained her original intention for writing "Inside DingTalk." After repeated reflection, she believes that large organizations face many common, systemic problems in the process of building AI, issues not limited to DingTalk, Alibaba, or even China. Her internal post aimed to help colleagues avoid potential pitfalls in AI product development, save valuable time, and focus more on the individuals involved.
Regarding the significant response to her article, she noted that many of the explorations in the ONE project were not without merit but reflected shared dilemmas in AI development. Secondly, the goal of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) is to reduce working hours; the existence of inefficient, formalized work within organizations consumes human resources and contradicts the original purpose of technological advancement. Simultaneously, the fatigue caused by the proliferation of low-quality AI-generated content has drawn more attention to genuinely sincere writing. "I tried to move you with perplexity, danger, and failure," she quoted Argentine poet Jorge Luis Borges to describe her insight into sincerity.
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