Artificial intelligence, as the hottest cutting-edge technology at the moment, overlaps with boosting consumption, the top priority of the strategy to expand domestic demand. What kind of blue ocean will it open?
Recently, eight departments including the Ministry of Commerce issued the “Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Development of “Artificial Intelligence + Consumption” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”), which proposed 17 specific measures focusing on five aspects, including increasing the consumption of artificial intelligence + commodities and expanding the consumption of artificial intelligence + services, to promote the introduction of artificial intelligence into thousands of households and thousands of stores, and better meet the people’s needs for a better life.
At present, artificial intelligence is developing rapidly. From large language models, intelligent robots to autonomous driving technology, there are constant waves of technological innovation, refreshing people’s imagination of the future.
However, technological breakthroughs do not equate to commercial success. Only when a new technology leaves the laboratory and enters thousands of households can it release its greatest value.
At present, the dazzling artificial intelligence technology is still far away from large-scale commercial application, and the huge investment of enterprises in research and development needs to be converted into market value.
Take humanoid robots as an example. Behind the wonderful performance on the Spring Festival Gala stage are breakthroughs in core algorithms, intelligent control, and bionic technologies. However, most products still remain in the B-end environment. For ordinary consumers, such high-end artificial intelligence products are still visible and unused technological symbols, and technological innovations have not been transformed into civilian value.
From this perspective, the issuance of the “Opinions” comes at the right time.
The “Opinions” make efforts from both supply and demand sides to promote the supply side to come up with more breakthrough products, guide and provide real consumption scenarios on the demand side, and give artificial intelligence a clearer direction for commercialization.
From a macro perspective of industrial development, the “Opinions” make up for the limitations of enterprises’ spontaneous exploration. Through 17 specific executable measures, it delineates key scenarios and development directions for technology implementation, providing clear guidance for enterprises’ innovation investment and commercial promotion.
The development of any industry is the result of the positive interaction between technological innovation and market demand, and the artificial intelligence industry is no exception.
The “Opinions” start from two directions: the supply side and the demand side, and provide specific implementation paths.
On the supply side, it is clearly proposed to “promote the consumption of artificial intelligence robots” and accelerate the application demonstration of new artificial intelligence products such as elderly care robots, companion robots, and artificial intelligence life assistants. This will direct humanoid robots to consumption scenarios such as homes and communities, requiring companies to start research and development innovations based on real market demand and optimize product functions.
On the demand side, the “Opinions” broadened the application scenarios of artificial intelligence, not only limited to traditional smart hardware consumption, but also went deep into the field of service consumption, proposing five scenarios and specific measures for home, elderly care, cultural tourism, accommodation and catering, and education, such as studying the inclusion of smart home and service applications in the “Good House” construction guide.
These measures will help guide the commercialization of artificial intelligence companies and meet the needs of society and people’s livelihood.
For example, applying artificial intelligence to elderly care services can improve the quality of elderly care services and achieve universal benefit from technology.
In addition, the implementation of artificial intelligence in scenarios close to people’s livelihood, such as wholesale and retail, e-commerce, and logistics distribution, can activate consumption potential, inject new impetus into the domestic consumer market, and boost domestic demand.
The “Opinions” also mentioned the need to “increase financial and other financial support” to provide financial incentives for the commercialization of artificial intelligence.
Only by expanding application scenarios based on technological innovation can the artificial intelligence industry have greater room for imagination.
On the one hand, it releases technological dividends to serve consumers and stimulate consumption potential; on the other hand, it integrates accumulated data on food, clothing, housing and transportation to promote algorithm optimization and product iteration, forming a virtuous cycle.
However, the large-scale application of new technologies in the consumer sector will also bring risks and challenges, such as the impact on employment. The strong substitution of artificial intelligence may affect employment. Policies need to consider labor force transformation and re-employment issues.
In addition, if there is a lack of regulations when artificial intelligence obtains personal data, it will affect consumer privacy and security.
Relevant departments need to improve data security and privacy protection mechanisms and clarify the boundaries of corporate data collection, storage, and use.
In general, under the global AI boom, the “Opinions” open up a broad space for the commercial application of artificial intelligence, which is conducive to activating consumption potential, promoting technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and accelerating the cultivation of new productivity.
Next, we need to promote the accelerated implementation of artificial intelligence while maintaining the bottom line of safety, so that the dividends of technological innovation can truly benefit thousands of households.
