The 2026 Shanghai Suhewan Conference of the Global Wealth Management Forum was held in Shanghai on October 16 and 17. Tim Cook, Executive Chairman of Apple and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University, and Bai Chong'en, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Global Wealth Management Forum and Dean of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University, held a dialogue on the theme of "Confronting a New World Where Humans and AI Coexist." This was Tim Cook's second time attending the conference, following the 2025 Shanghai Suhewan Conference.
Tim Cook and Bai Chong'en exchanged in-depth views on the optimism and concerns brought by artificial intelligence, how AI can serve humanity, the democratization of app development, the intelligent transformation of supply chains, and the broader social role of technology companies.
Cook said he has been traveling to China for nearly 30 years, and what struck him most on this trip was China's current vitality and momentum, with people's optimism about the future at an all-time high. He believes that technology should serve humanity, not the other way around; AI applications in health are accelerating, and body sensors have enormous potential in providing early warning signals. He also noted that AI is driving the democratization of app development, that the level of supply chain automation is far beyond what it used to be, and that all of this requires people to be prepared for it.
Bai Chong'en, speaking from the frontlines of education, pointed out that AI brings profound challenges to education: the lower rungs of the career ladder are disappearing or shrinking, and the gap between motivated and unmotivated students is being further widened. To this end, the Tsinghua School of Economics and Management proposed the STAR framework, identifying four key capability directions: finding the right questions, technological literacy, judgment, and resilience. He noted that in an era where answers are readily available, asking the right questions becomes even more important.
The following is the Chinese translation of this dialogue.
On AI, People's Optimism About the Future Is Unprecedented
Bai Chong'en: You have been in China for a few days now, having visited Guangdong and Beijing. What has impressed you most about this trip so far? What are the biggest takeaways?
Tim Cook: That's a good question. Counting from my first visit to China in 1997, it has been nearly thirty years. Over these years, I have fallen in love with the Chinese people and Chinese culture. Every time I come, I learn something new. This time, I started my trip in Guangdong. Apple's journey in China also began there. That journey started with a component that was extremely difficult to manufacture. In 1998, we came to Guangdong Province seeking help, which launched a large-scale manufacturing operation that later became an important part of our supply chain, producing iPhones, iPads, and Macs. What I felt this time is that China is now full of vitality. In my view, people's optimism about the future is at an unprecedented level. The way everyone is actively embracing AI reflects this. I'm not just talking about computer scientists—I mean everyone. This spirit of optimism has left a very deep impression on me. I also saw this in app developers. We set up an app development incubator in Beijing, and this past week the incubator held a competition to see which app was the best, and there were indeed some very good ones. What impressed me was that everyone is using AI. 95% of the apps in the incubator used AI. In short, what struck me most was the optimism about the future and the belief that "tomorrow will be better than today." When I visited Tsinghua, I also saw this in the students: they are embracing the new world and actively using this transformative technology. In Shanghai, I can also feel this atmosphere, whether visiting our retail stores or yesterday meeting that person who developed an app through "vibe coding." This atmosphere is everywhere.
Bai Chong'en: Yes, people have different feelings about AI. As you just said, some are more optimistic, while others have concerns. I'm glad you found that Chinese people are more optimistic about AI.
Tim Cook: Yes, they are indeed more optimistic. People around the world have concerns, and these concerns have their merits. But I think in China, people are more willing to see the positive side.
Technology Should Serve Humanity, Not the Other Way Around
Bai Chong'en: Great. The theme of today's forum is "Confronting a New World Where Humans and AI Coexist." Throughout your career, you have always emphasized the importance of infusing technology with humanity. At a time when the world is undergoing transformation, how do your thoughts and approach to AI reflect this philosophy?
Tim Cook: This philosophy is very fully reflected in our approach. I also really like the theme of this forum, because I have always believed that technology should serve humanity, not the other way around. Technology should always focus on improving people's lives, helping people live healthier, helping people create things they otherwise couldn't create, and making every day more productive. Everything should serve humanity. That's how I've always seen it.
AI Brings Profound Challenges to Education
Tim Cook: Dean Bai, you are now driving a major transformation at Tsinghua, involving both student learning and teacher instruction. How do you view this current stage?
Bai Chong'en: Many people are actively embracing AI, but we also encounter quite a few challenges. Now, one indicator that is very important to us in the classroom is the students' "head-up rate." Many students bury their heads in their computers and don't listen to the instructor. This is the challenge we currently face. I think AI brings very profound challenges to education. One problem is that the lowest rungs of the career ladder are disappearing or diminishing. Therefore, students must learn to start directly from a higher rung. This is a big challenge for us. Additionally, I think AI is further widening the gap between highly motivated students and less motivated students. The problem is that less motivated students can quickly find answers from AI, and then they stop learning. This is a big challenge. How do we motivate students to use AI to learn better, rather than just using AI to find answers and skip the learning process? This is a big challenge for us. Because of these challenges, we are thinking carefully about what to teach and how to teach. At the advisory board meeting, we proposed the STAR framework, covering four key capability areas. First, S stands for Search—identifying the questions that need to be answered. In this new AI era, this is crucial. Second, T stands for Tech-savvy—technological literacy, combining traditional skills, leadership, etc., with technology. Third, A stands for Assessment—the ability to make judgments. Finally, R stands for Resilience. AI brings a lot of uncertainty, and people need the ability to withstand failure and face failure. Therefore, resilience, lifelong learning, and leadership are all very important. These considerations influence what we teach, how we teach, what we research, and how we research. We still face many problems, but I am glad that the advisory board members have offered many very valuable opinions and suggestions. We will carefully study these suggestions and strive to do our work even better.
We Are Entering an Era Where Questions Matter More Than Answers
Tim Cook: I think we are entering an era where questions are more important than answers. The past educational model was that the teacher asked the question, and the student's task was to give the answer. Now, the question has become more important than the answer. Because in a world where answers are known, what questions you ask becomes extremely important. I think this requires us to adjust our way of thinking to some extent.
Even More Optimistic Than Last Year
Bai Chong'en: You just mentioned that AI should serve humanity. So how specifically should it serve? From what angle and in what way can it better serve humanity? These are all very important questions. We want students to learn to think about these questions more quickly in their studies. When you talked about how to make AI better serve people, you mentioned making people healthier and improving efficiency. In the health sector, you have always been very optimistic about AI's potential to improve human health. You talked about this topic last year. A year has passed—are you still as excited about this potential? What tangible progress have you seen in AI improving people's health?
Tim Cook: Frankly speaking, I am even more optimistic now than I was last year. As far as the health sector is concerned, this week has been very exciting. This week, we launched the sleep apnea notification feature for Apple Watch in China. Sleep apnea is when a person stops breathing during sleep at night. This can lead to problems like high blood pressure and diabetes, causing serious consequences. Most people with sleep apnea don't know they have it. Now, if you have this condition, the watch will send you a notification, and you can seek help from medical professionals, use a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device, or receive other appropriate treatment. That's one example. Another example is that earlier this week, I met a young person in Beijing who had an irregular heartbeat. He began receiving frequent notifications in the app, so he decided to seek medical help, and was ultimately diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, or AFib. AFib can be a "silent killer." So alerting people before the problem becomes serious is very significant. I see new developments like this constantly emerging, and more and more of these things are becoming possible. We are currently conducting research with Beijing Anzhen Hospital to find more early indicators of cardiovascular problems. Overall, I believe that sensors have enormous potential in health detection—they can provide early warnings and help people live healthier lives. There are also some very helpful reminders that let you know how well you slept, how much you exercised, and how long you stood. These reminders are all very useful because we all need to move more and sleep better at night. Getting a score the next morning that can guide you to take action is very meaningful.
Bai Chong'en: Yes. Last year you talked about using AI to alert people when they fall.
Tim Cook: Yes, that's right.
Bai Chong'en: And after people fall, it can immediately notify medical service providers. Now, you have extended this service to sleep apnea (Tim Cook: That's right. ), as well as complex heart health issues. That is to say, you are continuously expanding your services to help people cope with health risks. That's great.
Tim Cook: Think about how many aspects the notification feature now covers: from sleep, sleep apnea, to irregular heartbeat, to AFib. You can do an ECG directly on your wrist, and you can also check your blood oxygen saturation. In the morning, you get a "readiness score" to know whether your body is ready for the day. You can also check various workout information. This contains a huge amount of data, and all of it is in the service of humanity.
The Number of Apps Is Exploding, and App Development Is Becoming Democratized
Bai Chong'en: Yes. Apple has a huge community of app developers in China, helping people use their phones better. Some people believe that with the development of AI, apps are becoming less important. How do you view the role of apps? And how do you view the relationship between Apple and these app developers?
Tim Cook: Frankly speaking, what I see is exactly the opposite. I see the number of apps exploding. Why is that? Because AI is helping people write code faster. AI vibe coding is also enabling people who have never touched a line of code before to program. Yesterday, I visited the artist Hu Yanbin. He is developing apps through vibe coding to connect with his fans. Just one year ago, this was impossible. So I do see apps emerging in large numbers. You could say that app development is becoming democratized. We can see this in the incubators we run and in the app competitions we hold. This explosive growth is happening, and it is happening all around the world.
With Machine Learning, (Supply Chains) Have Achieved Very High Levels of Automation
Bai Chong'en: Yes. Apple also has a huge supply chain in China. Many workers are in the manufacturing sector, producing various components for Apple and assembling products like the iPhone. How do you think AI will affect Apple's supply chain?
Tim Cook: Frankly speaking, it has already had a significant impact. Obviously, robotics technology is developing rapidly. There is also the area of quality inspection, which used to rely heavily on manual labor. Now, with machine learning, it has achieved a very high level of automation. Take the color of an iPhone, for example—when you produce millions of phones, you need to ensure that every single one has a consistent color. These tasks are all based on machine learning. If you walked into a factory ten years ago and then walked into the same factory today, you would find them worlds apart—the difference in automation levels is enormous.
Students Are Using AI in Many Different Ways and Benefiting From It
Tim Cook: Of course, this means you have to help employees prepare. Therefore, we have a program that provides educational support for supplier employees, and we are very proud of it. This program helps employees improve their capabilities and prepare for an AI-driven future. We offer AI courses, robotics courses, and many other courses. You will see that those who actively learn this knowledge get promoted quickly. Some people joined as frontline workers and soon grew into supervisors and factory managers. These are all the results of education. You have also seen that students embrace and use AI to varying degrees. What interesting use cases have you seen among students?
Bai Chong'en: You just mentioned that the artist Hu Yanbin develops apps through vibe coding to interact with fans. Our students benefit in another direction: many students originally had no art training and did not possess skills in artistic creation and expression. But now, with the help of AI, these students studying science, technology, engineering, economics, and management can also express their creative ideas. In the past, they couldn't do this because they lacked relevant training; now they can. So many of our students are experimenting with this approach to better express themselves. This is a very good development. Second, many students are doing research, especially doctoral students. For a student just starting to explore a new topic, with AI's help, becoming familiar with the field is now much easier and faster. They still need to judge the quality of existing research, but AI can help them collect and organize information more efficiently. Our students are also very creative and develop AI agents to help other students. For example, we have many international students who encounter quite a few unfamiliar problems when they come to China. So students used vibe coding to develop an agent to help incoming international students answer everyday questions and cope with difficulties in life. Therefore, students are using AI in many different ways and benefiting from it. But at the same time, we want them to continue exploring and constantly discovering new problems that need to be solved.
Tim Cook: Yes, seeing someone who originally had one type of skill use AI to break through their own limitations and learn and master other skills is truly inspiring. I think this is a very exciting outcome.
As a Company, Our Goal Is to Leave the World Better Because We Were Here
Bai Chong'en: Yes. We have been discussing how people can use AI to enhance their own capabilities. And Apple's impact on the Chinese people has gone beyond technology itself. Over the years, we have spoken many times about Apple's support for various projects in China. From this perspective, how do you view Apple's broader role in society?
Tim Cook: As a company, our goal is to leave the world better because we were here. This is the standard we hold ourselves to, and we strive to achieve it in many ways through concrete actions. For example, we advocate using renewable energy to operate our facilities. Just this week, we announced that 95% of our supply chain in China has adopted renewable energy. Our goal is to reach 100% by 2030, at which point we hope the company will achieve carbon neutrality. We also want to help disadvantaged groups improve their circumstances and achieve better development. Therefore, for many years, we have been cooperating with the China Development Research Foundation (CDRF), focusing on rural education and promoting rural development. These are just two examples of how we try to do things beyond the company itself and help people achieve better development. Of course, we also carry out some projects related to our own business, such as the app competition and app development incubator mentioned earlier, to help entrepreneurs grow and take their apps from good to great. These are all things we care deeply about, and the purpose is to leave the world better because we were here.
Bai Chong'en: Yes, you mentioned CDRF, the China Development Research Foundation. They have conducted a lot of innovative research on how to better provide nutrition and education services for rural preschool children. This work has had a great impact, and your support has been very important.
Tim Cook: They are an outstanding organization. Their work is remarkable, and we are proud to partner with them.
Bai Chong'en: Yes. You are also supporting us in cultivating future entrepreneurs who will drive green transformation. We actively encourage green innovation in the supply chains of products like the iPhone, and therefore we place great importance on giving students opportunities to participate in innovative practices. Your support is crucial for us to carry out this work.
Tim Cook: This has also played a key role in helping us achieve 95% renewable energy in our supply chain. Many students have participated in related work in the supply chain. They have gained firsthand practical experience and also brought great positive change to the world.
Bai Chong'en: Yes. We are organizing supply chain green innovation competitions and also training corporate executives to help them better advance green transformation in their supply chains and daily work. Our cooperation has indeed played an important role in these areas. Thank you very much for your support.
Tim Cook: Thank you.
Bai Chong'en: And thank you for supporting the activities of the China Development Research Foundation and other related projects in China. I think this work is very important for educational development and rural development.
Tim Cook: We are delighted to be involved, and we have learned a lot from it.
Bai Chong'en: Okay. Tim, thank you very much for this wonderful conversation.
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