Why digitalization is disruptive

Digitalization mainly includes big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. It is usually called ABCD: A-Artificial Intelligence, B-Block Chain, C-Cloud, D-Big Data. The general view of the relationship between these is "integrated development", and it is unclear which is more important or which comes first, but you have me and I have you. For example, the industrial Internet based on blockchain technology includes blockchain technology, big data technology, and cloud computing technology. The three are integrated into one, and the concepts of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things are derived. However, some people believe that the status of ABCD is not equal, and its core should be blockchain technology. Because blockchain technology solves the infrastructure of the digital economy and hits the fundamental problem of production relations. If the digital platform is compared to a human being, the Internet, mobile Internet and the Internet of Things are like the human nervous system, big data is like the internal organs, skin and organs in the human body, and cloud computing is equivalent to the human spine. Without the Internet, the internal organs and the spine cannot work together; without cloud computing, the internal organs cannot be hung; and without big data, cloud computing is a walking corpse and a hollow skeleton. With the nervous system, spine, internal organs, skin and organs, plus the artificial intelligence equivalent to the soul - the human brain and nerve endings system, the basic digital platform has taken shape. Blockchain technology can improve the human brain's reaction speed, bone strength, and limb control flexibility at the DNA level. Under the transformation of blockchain technology, the basic functions and applications of the digital platform will be greatly expanded.

In terms of specific functions, the core functions of cloud computing lie in computing power, storage capacity and channel capacity; the core functions of big data lie in the large amount of static data, dynamic data and superimposed data generated after data is used; the core functions of artificial intelligence lie in transforming data into information after filtering and removing garbage, transforming information into knowledge after mining and pushing, and transforming knowledge into decision-making judgments through intelligent algorithms; and blockchain is a special Internet technology, which is a way of managing "consensus groups". If cloud computing and artificial intelligence have brought about an increase in productivity, and big data has made the distribution of means of production more efficient, then blockchain is a transformation of production relations. On this basis, blockchain technology can also greatly expand the breadth and depth of human collaboration through new trust mechanisms.

The reason why digitalization can subvert tradition is that it has five all-genes: full airspace, full process, full scene, full analysis and full value. The so-called "full airspace" means: breaking regional and spatial barriers, from the sky to the ground, from the ground to the underwater, from the domestic to the international can be ubiquitously connected; the so-called "full process" means: it is related to every point in all human production and life processes, and information is accumulated 24 hours a day; the so-called "full scene" means: crossing the industry sector, all human behavior scenes in life and work are connected; the so-called "full analysis" means: through the collection, analysis and judgment of artificial intelligence, predicting all human behavior information, generating new cognition, new behavior and new value that are different from the traditional; and the so-called "full value" means: breaking the closedness of a single value system, penetrating all value systems, and integrating and creating an unprecedented and huge value chain.

The five all-round genes of digitalization, when combined with any traditional industrial chain, will form a new economic organization mode, thus having a subversive impact on traditional industries. When combined with industrial manufacturing, it forms industrial manufacturing 4.0; when combined with the logistics industry, it forms an intelligent logistics system; when combined with urban management, it forms a smart city; when combined with finance, it forms financial technology or technology finance. In the process of combining with finance, the massive information and computing power possessed by digitalization can greatly improve the efficiency and security of financial services, and reduce the operating costs, bad debt rate and risks of financial institutions.

(The author is the vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges)