64: Chapter 64 Boiling a Frog in Slow Water

The elderly man, who had remained silent as if he were merely there to observe, finally spoke slowly as the debates reached a stalemate.

His voice wasn't loud, carrying a steadiness born of long experience, yet it was like a stone cast into a deep pool, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

"enlightenment Industrial AI—we're doing it, that's for certain."

The old man's words were unadorned, striking straight at the core.

"Everyone is aware of this. The key is: how do we do it?"

His calm gaze swept over the crowd, lingering slightly on Chen Youhua with an inscrutable depth before he continued:

"Your discussion just now laid out the pros and cons clearly. This sword of enlightenment is too sharp."

"At this stage, its level of intelligence and efficiency is so high that it exceeds the capacity of the current industrial ecosystem, and it's also high enough to... easily become a target for everyone."

He picked up the teacup in front of him and took a gentle sip, his movements calm and unhurried.

"Does the West have AI? Yes. And their progress isn't slow. Although CloseAI hasn't officially debuted, the industry is already on edge."

"As for us, there's no need to reveal our hand so brilliantly right from the start and back our opponents into a corner. A cornered dog will jump over a wall; it's better to... boil the frog in lukewarm water."

"Boiling a frog in lukewarm water?" Professor Liang Hongru frowned slightly, lost in thought.

"Correct."

The old man set down his teacup. His voice remained steady, yet it carried a power that could see through people's hearts.

"Limit enlightenment's industrial efficiency. To what level? Just a little bit higher than the top industrial AI platforms publicly available in the West."

"Ten percent? Fifteen? The technical department can handle the specifics. The core idea is to let them see us and chase us, but always remain just one step behind."

A faint curve seemed to touch the corners of his mouth, vanishing in an instant.

"Let them feel that with a bit more effort and a bit more money, they can catch up to us."

"That way, their resources will continuously pour into this bottomless pit."

"R&D costs money, marketing costs money, and the battle for talent costs even more... And what about us?"

He turned his gaze toward Academician Zheng.

"By holding products with higher efficiency and potentially lower costs, and only charging a token platform access fee, we can allow domestic enterprises to use better tools and drive industrial upgrades."

"They burn money while we make it; they are exhausted from running while we move forward steadily. As one waxes and the other wanes, time will naturally be on our side."

A strange silence fell over the conference room.

Then, as if the ice were melting, a glimmer of realization—and even an excited smile at the thought of 'so that's how it's played'—spread across many faces.

This strategy was subtle and unassuming, yet ruthless and seasoned, striking directly at the essence of commercial competition.

It wasn't about destruction, but depletion; not confrontation, but guidance.

Using absolute technical superiority while revealing only the tip of the iceberg, luring opponents to exhaust their lifeblood on the wrong track.

"Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"

The CEO of the Equipment Group couldn't help but clap his hands, his previous agitation turning into heartfelt admiration.

"Slicing meat with a dull knife—they'll suffer in silence! This is far more sophisticated than just flexing muscles!"

"Indeed... ingenious."

Professor Liang Hongru also nodded slowly, his tense expression relaxing considerably.

Limiting industrial efficiency was itself a means of reducing potential risks. Combined with this strategic intent of boiling the frog, the scale between risk and reward seemed to have found a new equilibrium.

He no longer insisted on a lengthy observation period.

Academician Zheng's face beamed even more, like an old farmer seeing the hope of a bountiful harvest.

He immediately picked up the conversation, his voice booming with the urgency of implementing the plan.

"Since the direction is set, let's discuss the specifics of how to roll it out."

"First, the core must be firmly grasped! enlightenment's industrial brain—the core models, key algorithms, and training frameworks—will all be controlled by a dedicated national platform and physically isolated."

"It will never be open! Open source? Don't even think about it! We will only provide black-box API services. Enterprises will pay based on call volume and complexity. As for the price..."

Academician Zheng waved his hand grandly.

"We'll set a people-friendly price, significantly lower than the operating costs of similar Western products! Make it affordable for them so they can't live without it!"

A scholar from the Academy of Social Sciences added.

"Open up the interfaces. The API interfaces should be rich and numerous, like building blocks. Whatever functional modules an enterprise needs, they can assemble them themselves!"

"Predictive production? We have it! Supply chain optimization? We have it! Simulating new material properties? We have that too! Let them exercise their initiative and stir up the market for me! It should be as convenient to use as open source, but the roots will always be in our hands!"

Professor Liang Hongru no longer opposed and offered his own opinion.

"Safety issues and social buffering must be thoroughly considered! Platform access must be strictly vetted!"

"In the initial stage, authorization will only be open to purely domestic-funded key enterprises in the core industrial chain! Those joint ventures or foreign-invested ones want to use it? Sure! Get in line!"

"Once our domestic companies are well-fed and technical barriers are built high, we'll let them bring their cold, hard cash and follow our rules to have a bit of the leftovers!"

"As for the transition of talent,"

Liang Hongru scanned everyone present and said in a serious tone.

"This is a major issue! We can't take a one-size-fits-all approach. The platform can establish an Enlightenment Application Research Institute to absorb some high-end talent for deep development and industry adaptation."

"At the same time, supporting vocational skill improvement plans and new industrial support projects must keep up, providing buffers and transition channels for those roles that might be replaced. Reforms must proceed, but the growing pains must be eased!"

The plan discussed by everyone was almost a perfect implementation of the old man's 'boiling the frog' strategy.

It ensured core control and security while rapidly seizing the market and nurturing an ecosystem through low prices and rich interfaces, all while considering social impact.

The former dissenters and centrists also shifted their thinking and began to add details.

"Right! Authorization vetting must be strict! Establish corporate technical safety ratings and dynamic management!"

"API call data must be encrypted and anonymized, and the platform must have robust anomaly monitoring and circuit breaker mechanisms!"

"The talent training plan must be fast! We can collaborate with universities to specifically train enlightenment Application Engineers; this is a new blue ocean!"

"Empowering low-end manufacturing should be done in stages, starting with pilots, with supporting policies following in sync to avoid industrial hollowing out!"

The atmosphere in the conference room shifted from previous heated arguments to an efficient and pragmatic refinement of the plan.

The representatives from all sides chimed in, quickly outlining a clear rollout path for enlightenment's industrial version around the core points of 'limiting efficiency,' 'national platform,' 'open interfaces,' 'strict authorization,' and 'talent buffering.'

How that invisible, massive cake would be carved up for domestic industry while ensuring the state controlled the core—and simultaneously leaving a lure of hope for potential opponents—became the main theme of the discussion.

Chen Youhua remained silent behind Academician Zheng, watching these elites who had just been arguing over risks but were now cooperating in good faith and discussing enthusiastically how to best use enlightenment.

The fingers he had been rubbing against his notebook finally relaxed completely.

The value of a tool lies in its use.

And how it is used has never been something the tool itself can decide.

That mischievous and sensitive child deep underground was about to have a portion of its abilities neutered, donned in the guise of an industrial black box, and pushed out into the vast and complex world.

How would it be used? What would it bring? Would it be a blessing or a curse?

Chen Youhua's gaze swept over the old man who had set the tone, over the beaming Academician Zheng, and over the crowd in heated discussion, finally falling back onto his own blank notebook.

Deep within those calm eyes, an indescribable glimmer flickered.

enlightenment's fate was sealed, and the human chess game had only just placed its first stone in a much broader world.