Feature: Sci-fi writers, tech insiders share thoughts on the future

BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- If humanity is riding a high-speed train and Artificial Intelligence is the accelerator, what will be the brake?

This question, raised by award-winning science-fiction writer Liu Cixin via video message, was for two groups that rarely cross paths: sci-fi writers and IT engineers.

A group of nine sci-fi authors from the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and China sat down with engineers from Ant Financial, Alibaba's payment arm, on Dec. 1 in east China's Hangzhou to discuss technology and the future.

Responding to Liu's question, British writer Ian R. Macleod argued that since human beings cannot entirely break away from the physical world, the environment and earth's resources could be the "brake" on technological development.

Canadian writer Derek Kunsken pointed out that technology is imperfect and machines can make mistakes too. People have to learn to manage risks in order to embrace technological innovations, he stressed.

Chen Qiufan, a Chinese science-fiction writer, answered by raising another question: Why do we need the brake?

"Maybe you have to run at full throttle in order to jump over the cliff. It's more likely to fall if you hesitate," said Chen.

The writers emphasized the power of choice that technology offers. According to U.S. writer Lawrence M. Schoen, as technology has developed, ordinary people have been given choices and opportunities, which can be a source of optimism.

Ant Financial's CTO Cheng Li also joined the workshop. When he was a boy, Cheng was fascinated by the Chinese sci-fi book "Little Know-all Travels around the Future World," published in 1978, which depicted many fictional gadgets that were later turned into reality.

In recent years, the digital world and the physical world have become so intertwined that technology is changing the world in a more fundamental way, he said.

For example, Ant Financial has brought machine learning to payment technology, launching the first "smile to pay" facial recognition payment kiosk in Hangzhou in September.

Cheng mentioned Asimov's laws of robotics.

"As architects of the digital world, we have to set up some basic laws in order to build a digital world that is as safe as the real world," he said.

Apart from Friday's workshop, the writers discussed AI and blockchain technology with the tech team of Ant Financial.

They played with cutting-edge virtual reality and augmented reality financial technology at Ant Financial's headquarters. Sitting at a dinner table whose entire surface was an interactive screen, Schoen said, "This is like science fiction."

On Saturday, the writers went to get food and ride buses using Alipay, like the locals do. They were amazed by how ubiquitous cashless payment is in Hangzhou, which is home to Alibaba, the world's largest e-commerce company.

Many of them said they were inspired by what they saw. U.S. sci-fi writer and historian Carolyn Ives Gilman said she has never seen a big company give so much attention to ordinary individuals, such as small traders and craftsmen.

Schoen said he is looking forward to the choices Ant Financial's tech team will make in the future.

"We imagine the future," Schoen said to the engineers. "But you are who make the future." Enditem