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# AI becomes a hot topic in the Chinese sci-fi community

Visitors learn about Baidu's large language model Ernie Bot during a high-tech expo in Shanghai, July 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not new to the sci-fi community, as it has been explored in numerous literary works, films, and TV series. However, large language models like ChatGPT have still impressed China's sci-fi circle with their intelligence, deep learning, and efficiency, just as they have in many other industries. Dr. Jack Gao, former president of Microsoft China and chairman of the ZEASN Group, delivered a thought-provoking speech at the 14th Chinese Nebula Awards, prompting the sci-fi community to think, reflect and imagine how to utilize AI. Discussions surrounding AI and AI-generated content were hot topics at sci-fi events throughout the year. For instance, sci-fi writer Chen Qiufan, who co-authored "AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future" with Kai-Fu Lee, former president of Google China, also shared his vision during a panel themed "Navigating the AI Revolution: Shaping a Decade of Promise and Peril" at the Paris Peace Forum in November 2023, exchanging ideas with heavyweights like Brad Smith, president of Microsoft Corporation, and Yann Le Cun, vice president and chief AI scientist at Meta. Sci-fi writers, with their unique insights and foresight, could significantly contribute to AI development in China and worldwide. Interestingly, Professor Shen Yang's team at Tsinghua University used AI to generate a sci-fi story that won a local sci-fi and popular science award in Jiangsu province in October 2023, sparking widespread discussion and astonishment. In February 2023, China's largest sci-fi magazine, Science Fiction World, announced that it would refuse any AI-generated novel submissions.