Panel Discussion at 2019 International Youth Leadership Finance Summit
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has triggered profound changes across the world. China is leading the way in the global AI revolution and AI applications in a specific industry will become the future direction. What changes will AI bring to the financial sector? How should we face the challenges and opportunities in the AI era?
During the panel discussion of 2019 International Youth Leadership Finance Summit moderated by Prof. Zhan Jiang, Faculty Director of SAIF MF Program; Prof. Jie Hu, Professor of Practice at SAIF, former Chairman and CEO of Xunlei Big Data/Xunlei Finance; Ms. Zhongyu Zhang, Partner of Lantern Venture; Mr. Weihong Liang, Partner of Panda Capital; Mr. Wenyao Wu, Vice President of Minsheng Tonghai; Mr. Wei Zhang, Technology Partner and Senior Risk Control Director of CreditX; Mr. Wei Xu, CFO of Gowild; and Dr. Honghui Zhu, Research Fellow of China Academy of Financial Research, discussed a number of hot topics on AI applications and their prospects in China. The panelists also shared their valuable advice derived from their years of practice and experience to participants.
Prof. Zhan Jiang, Faculty Director of SAIF MF Program, hosted the panel discussion:
What are the promising AI applications what do you think about their prospects?
Prof. Jie Hu
Professor of Practice at SAIF, former Chairman and CEO of Xunlei Big Data and Xunlei Finance
Technology will always be technology. Whether it is promising depends on if the applications are suitable for the current stage of technological development. I think first of all, it is important to find a real problem that needs to be solved with this technology. Then, we can talk about the technology and its applications.
Zhongyu Zhang
Partner of Lantern Venture
Industrialization and smart agriculture haven’t received enough attention because there were not enough sensors to converge data. Today, everything can be recorded and analyzed, which will trigger many AI startups. I am more optimistic about AI applications in the industrial and new agricultural fields.
Weihong Liang
Partner of Panda Capital
Investors are always looking into the future. The opportunities for AI are everywhere, and the domains generating large amounts of data are the first places where AI can be deployed, such as healthcare. With the continuous improvement of hardware and systems over time, all industries will eventually become AI-based industries. Early investors are very optimistic about the prospects of AI.
Wenyao Wu
Vice President of Minsheng Tonghai
Traditional industries present a lot of opportunities in the context of big data and AI. If you can see the greatest potential in the most fundamental market and show it to consumers in the most exclusive way, you can certainly harvest extraordinary value. This is also the reason why I pay attention to smart agriculture and rural revitalization.
Wei Zhang
Technology Partner and Senior Risk Control Director of CreditX
As a tool, AI will have great commercial value if it can liberate and extend human brain and physical strength in specific industries. Looking back at the evolution of AI, there have been three important conditions, namely big data; algorithms and machine learning; and cloud and parallel computing. As long as an industry meets these conditions, AI can fully exert its power. Specifically, the best examples are finance, retailing and e-commerce, including the internet and mobile internet services, telecommunications and healthcare.
Wei Xu
CFO of Gowild
AI technology has grown rapidly in recent years. The open source algorithms mean how easy data can be accessed, which determines how fast a company can grow. The three technologies of 5G, Internet of Things (IoT) and AI will eventually move towards ultimate integration, but they cannot be separated from the essence of the pursuit of profit. From an investor perspective, there is no good or bad as long as there are real demands. There are only projects that are suitable for the investment stage and preferences, with the probability of eventual success.
Honghui Zhu
Research Fellow of China Academy of Financial Research
AI is very likely to be the next promising direction. At present, big data, algorithms, and internet technologies evolving around AI are only general concepts. When it comes to applications in specific industries, AI also has many segments with exceptional potentials.
Given the abundant funds in today’s market, AI has witnessed a large influx of funds as the eye of the storm. It is necessary for financial professionals to identify whether an AI-related investment opportunity represents a real prospect or a short-term hype. They need to think whether the application of AI technology in a specific field can actually solve the problem.
Prof. Zhan Jiang
Faculty Director of SAIF MF Program
There is a long career journey ahead of our participants. Would you please share your opinions on talents in terms of career development or life pursuit?
Prof. Jie Hu
Professor of Practice at SAIF, former Chairman and CEO of Xunlei Big Data and Xunlei Finance
As far as my own experience in many different professions is concerned, the most important qualities of talents are learning ability, lifelong learning habits and learning efficiency.
Zhongyu Zhang
Partner of Lantern Venture
Today, the world calls for versatile talents. I suggest that participants from engineering disciplines join SAIF for further study and systematically master financial knowledge. In contrary, if your undergraduate major is finance, you’d better learn coding to say the least. Those who cannot work with AI will definitely be eliminated in the future.
Weihong Liang
Partner of Panda Capital
There is a sentence in Jobs' autobiography, saying "Life is like a necklace, and every experience is a pearl in it." If there’s something retained in your life experience, it will help your future career. You need to know what you are pursuing in your career development. If you have the ability to think independently and deeply, you can do any job.
Wenyao Wu
Vice President of Minsheng Tonghai
There is no shortage of specialists in the financial sector. It calls for versatile talents. However, versatile talents are built on specialists.
Wei Zhang
Technology Partner and Senior Risk Control Director of CreditX
In addition to the ability to learn, thinking is also very important, including the capabilities of criticism, innovation, logic and structured thinking. In addition, in the financial sector, you are dealing with people, so it is critical to understand the human nature and behaviors. In terms of professional choice, intelligent risk control and robo-advisor are worth considering.
Wei Xu
CFO of Gowild
First of all, no matter which standard we follow, we must fully understand our profession. Second, your goal is to reach the height of life. When you choose a career, you must consider its long-term prospect. And third, the financial sector is characterized of high volatility and long cycle. If you remain the same, the future will be no different. I hope that everyone will keep their initial intentions and constantly enhance their skills.
Honghui Zhu
Research Fellow of China Academy of Financial Research
Some force themselves to like a certain occupation because of the pressure of survival. I think that they can also build some career-based hobbies and interests. In addition, the financial sector is changing quickly, and financial professionals can only adapt to the changes through ongoing learning.
About 2019 IYLFS
The theme of 2019 IYLFS is AI + Capital Markets. More than 1200 applicants applied to join the summit, and only around 120 students from 22 top universities all over the world have been carefully selected to attend the final competition. The participants include not only local C9 and 985 universities like Tsinghua University, Peking University, Renmin University of China, Nanjing University, Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, but also international schools, such as University of Cambridge, London School of Economics and Political Science, McGill University, University of Surrey, Emory University, University of Toronto, Baruch College at The City University of New York, etc.
Launched by SAIF MF Program in 2013, IYLFS is designed to providing a platform of collective learning and advancement for students from all kinds of higher education institutions, which will foster their capabilities of communication and organization. Moreover, it also aims to improve their understanding on financial theories and practices through presentation, competition and face-to-face interaction with business leaders and scholars in the financial sector.
