Tech Talk: What is the next big thing for the internet industry?

The 2023 World Internet Conference (WIC) is being held from November 8 to 10 in east China's Wuzhen water town. CGTN talks with Chon Kilnam, a member of the Internet Hall of Fame, also known as "Father of the Korean Internet," on the development of the global and Chinese internet.

Chon, who has attended the conference many times, expressed his appreciation for the new programs this year.

"(For Example,) the youth program. We have to raise the new generation moving more attention to the new generation, which is very good," he said, adding that it's not easy to host such a large-scale gathering this year.

"The pandemic has just finished. People are still joining slowly," he said.

From virtual reality to 5G and from the metaverse to artificial intelligence (AI), the internet industry has welcomed new subjects almost every year. Chon believes the next big thing in the industry is artificial general intelligence (AGI).

AGI is the hypothetical future state of a computer system that can rival or exceed the ability of humans to perform any intellectual task.

"The problem is that they will be smarter than us, so we have to prepare from now," said the expert, adding that it's important for humans to develop a good relationship with AI.

"In such a way, we don't fight; we can cooperate," Chon said. "We still don't know how to do it, but we have to; otherwise, it will be a mess."

The internet expert also shared his thoughts about China's internet development in recent years.

He called China a "latecomer" in the global internet industry but said China is leading the world in internet application development.

"For example, WeChat Pay, Alipay, and the e-commerce … you have November 11 (Double Eleven Shopping Festival). That's by far the biggest (of its kind)," said Chon.

"And also, they are social media. I saw some news that in the top five in the world, four are Chinese (applications), only one is from USA," he said. "You are one of the two or three bests in the world. That's something you have to realize."

2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the WIC. Since 2014, it has welcomed nearly 12,000 participants from 172 countries and regions from around the world.

Videographer: Wang Jue

Video editor: Yang Yiren

Cover image: Jia Jieqiong