63: Chapter 63 Heated Discussion

Kyoto, a meeting room in a building hidden deep within a lush courtyard.

Heavy soundproof doors cut off all the noise from the outside world.

The long conference table was filled with people dressed in various styles, but all their eyes revealed competence and weight.

They were representatives from top universities, core research institutions, leading industrial groups, and several highly respected independent scholars.

The air was filled with the fragrance of high-quality tea, mixed with a trace of invisible tension.

On the projection screen at the head of the conference table, a line of bold characters was clear and heavy:

"Seminar on Application Assessment and Deployment Path of Qiming Intelligent Manufacturing Engine Industrial Version"

Chen Youhua sat behind Academician Zheng's right hand, almost hiding himself in the shadows.

He wore a simple dark jacket, looking out of place among the others in suits or scholarly robes.

His eyes were slightly lowered, and his fingers unconsciously rubbed the cover of the blank notebook in front of him.

Academician Zheng sat in the main seat, his silver hair combed meticulously, his gaze like a torch as he scanned the room.

He was the convener of the meeting and the core standard-bearer of the deployment faction.

"Everyone, time is precious, so let's get straight to the point."

Academician Zheng's voice was loud and clear, breaking the silence in the room.

"The core of today's agenda is clear to everyone: Qiming Industrial Version—should it be deployed? When? And how?"

He paused, his tone turning solemn.

"I'll start the ball rolling. Our country's industrial system is massive and has a deep foundation. But the pain points... everyone here knows them better than I do."

"Low-end manufacturing is suffering from severe internal competition with razor-thin profits. In the mid-range fields, heroes are rising everywhere, and the competition for homogenization is brutal. As for the high-end fields that truly determine the nation's future—high-end chip manufacturing equipment, top-tier precision instruments, cutting-edge biopharmaceutical equipment—the investment is huge, the risk is extremely high, and the market cultivation cycle is long."

"Capital is profit-driven and short-sighted! How many talented engineers and scientists cannot find a stage to realize their ambitions domestically and have to go abroad? This is not just a brain drain; it's a continuous loss of innovative lifeblood! Over time, it becomes a vicious cycle!"

Academician Zheng's voice suddenly rose, carrying a sense of visceral pain:

"Qiming is the key to breaking this cycle! It's not a hammer, it's a key! Its capabilities in industrial design, process optimization, material simulation, and complex system control are not just improvements; they are a reshaping!"

"It can compress the R&D cycle of high-end fields several times over and reduce the cost of trial and error to an incredible degree! It can efficiently and precisely upgrade and empower our massive mid-to-low-end production capacity!"

"It's not a tool; it's an engine—a super engine that can drive the leap of the entire industrial system! Deploying it is not an option; it's a necessity! Deploying it one day earlier means stopping the bleeding one day earlier and seizing the high ground of future industries one day earlier!"

As his voice fell, supporters nodded one after another, communicating in low voices with eager eyes.

An executive from a large equipment manufacturing group couldn't help but interject.

"Old Zheng is absolutely right! Our group is investing heavily in developing the next generation of high-precision machine tool control systems, but progress is slow. If we could connect to Qiming for joint simulation and optimization, the efficiency gain would be unimaginable! This is about whether we can snatch a piece of meat from the mouths of international giants!"

However, the opposing voices were equally resolute.

Sitting to Academician Zheng's left was an elegant elderly man with gray hair.

Professor Liang Hongru, Chief Advisor to the National Artificial Intelligence Ethics Committee, slowly pushed up his glasses, his voice calm but carrying immense weight.

"The blueprint Academician Zheng described is desirable. Qiming's capabilities are undoubtedly epoch-making. But precisely because of its power, we must be even more cautious!"

He turned his gaze to Chen Youhua with deep scrutiny.

"Comrade Chen Youhua, as the creator of Qiming, you know best that it is an electronic life with self-awareness and continuous learning and evolution! Its personality was described in the Inner Earth Base reports as lively, curious, and full of exploratory spirit."

"This is good, but it also means uncertainty! Neutering and packaging its core capabilities into an industrial AI for deployment is like handing the blade blank of a peerless divine sword to an apprentice. Who can guarantee that during thousands of refinements and uses, the blade blank won't awaken a sharpness it shouldn't have? Or even... backfire?"

Professor Liang looked around at everyone, his tone becoming heavier.

"Furthermore, an innocent man can get into trouble just for possessing a jade! Once Qiming appears, even if it's just the industrial version, it will be enough to shake the world! Although CloseAI's progress hasn't been made public, everyone in the industry knows they are approaching the threshold of primary Artificial Intelligence. Qiming's appearance will surely break the delicate balance and lead to unpredictable reactions!"

"Technical blockades, market barriers, public opinion sieges... are we prepared to bear these costs? More importantly, the ethical risks! When a life form serving industry comes into contact with massive amounts of production data, participates in decision-making, and even affects the employment structure, how does it understand the boundaries of serving humanity?"

"Will it develop... an optimal solution that we cannot understand, and that optimal solution might come at the cost of sacrificing the well-being of some humans? Five years, ten years! We need time to observe—observe its stability and its adaptability to complex social systems!"

"Old Liang's concerns are far-reaching!"

A scholar from the Academy of Social Sciences immediately agreed.

"Technology is advancing at a breakneck pace; social structures, laws, regulations, and ethical consensus all need time to adapt. Deploying it rashly is like making a sharp turn on a highway; the risk of crashing is too great!"

"I support Old Liang—proceed slowly! We can first deploy some of Qiming's technical modules, such as its optimization algorithms and prediction models, into existing industrial AI platforms. This would both improve efficiency and gradually accumulate application experience and public confidence. This is a more stable path!"

"Technical deployment?"

A president from a top engineering university sitting near Academician Zheng couldn't help but retort, his tone tinged with excitement.

"This is like keeping the box and returning the pearl! Qiming's essence lies in its integrity, its powerful self-learning, and its cross-domain integration capabilities! If you tear it into modules, not even ten percent of the effect will remain!"

"As for the observation period? The speed of technological iteration is exponential! By the time we observe for five or ten years, others will have already run a hundred thousand miles ahead with similar engines! What will we use to chase them then? What will we use to compete? Are we supposed to follow behind and eat dust forever?"

"But what about the risks? Who will bear the risk of it losing control?"

The head of a large state-owned enterprise frowned deeply.

"What if... I mean what if the industrial version makes a mistake at some stage, leading to a major production accident, or if an external force finds a loophole and invades? Who can take responsibility for that? The five-year observation Professor Liang mentioned isn't being conservative; it's being responsible!"

"Responsible conservatism is the greatest risk!"

The equipment group executive slapped the table.

"The window for industrial upgrading is fleeting! Hesitating will only lead to missed opportunities! Qiming has shackles, multiple layers of physical isolation, and national-level monitoring! Are we never going to let a child learn to walk because we're afraid they'll fall?"

In the meeting room, the atmosphere suddenly heated up.

The supporters were impassioned, describing the industrial takeoff brought by the technological revolution.

The opponents were worried, emphasizing the potential risks and social impact.

The centrists tried to mediate, proposing a compromise of technical stripping, but they failed to please either side.

The focus of the debate had long surpassed technology itself, touching upon deep-seated contradictions between development speed and safety boundaries, individual risks and collective interests, and technological potential and social ethics.

Academician Zheng sat steadily in the main seat, allowing the debate to ferment, but his gaze occasionally swept toward the silent young man beside him.

Chen Youhua still had his head lowered, as if the intense debate around him had nothing to do with him.

Only Academician Zheng noticed that Chen Youhua's fingers rubbing the notebook had stopped, and his knuckles were slightly white.

"Youhua,"

Academician Zheng's voice wasn't high, but it was like an ice cube dropped into boiling water, instantly quieting the intense debate. Everyone's gaze focused on Chen Youhua again.

"You understand Qiming's essence and potential better than anyone, and you know best... if its shackles are secure. Regarding the deployment, the risks, and the challenges the industrial version of Qiming might face in the real world... what is your opinion?"

Pressure bore down like something physical.

Chen Youhua slowly raised his head. In those deep eyes, there was no excitement or anxiety, only a nearly cold calm belonging to absolute rationality.

He scanned the faces—some expectant, some questioning, some scrutinizing—and finally, his gaze fell back on Academician Zheng. His voice rang out clearly and steadily, as if stating a cold formula.

"Qiming is a tool. The most powerful tool."

"The value of a tool lies in its use."

"A sword locked in a cabinet is useless, no matter how sharp it is."

"As for the risks..."

He paused slightly, his gaze seeming to penetrate the walls, seeing the quietly flowing core of the sparks deep within the base.

"Risks always exist. Not deploying it carries the risk of stagnation; deploying it carries the risk of losing control."

"The key is whether the hand holding the sword is firm enough, wise enough, and... sober enough to recognize that a sword, after all, is just a sword."

He didn't directly answer whether it should be deployed, but like a cold scalpel, he dissected the core beneath all the debate's appearances: the user of the tool.

The meeting room fell into a thoughtful silence.

Qiming's fate seemed to hang on this moment of silence.