Artificial intelligence (AI) has moved from theory to practice, propelled by advances in computing power and the increasing accessibility of data.

The focus should now be on applying AI creatively to scalable, mass-market applications, rather than simply building more models, Wang Jian, the founder of Alibaba Cloud and the director of Zhejiang Lab, told Bloomberg.

In a July 2025 interview with the media outlet, Wang discussed the evolution of AI, cloud computing, and China’s tech ecosystem, outlining both the opportunities and challenges ahead.

He traced the evolution of AI from a narrow, academic sector in the 1980s, marked by weak technology and “artificial” problems, to today’s more mature systems that are capable of solving real-world problems.

“When I was a college of students, we already started [looking at AI]. That was in the early eighties. But if you look at the technology at that time, […] it was very shaky … and we were talking about artificial problems,” Wang recalled.

“But today you can see the technology is getting real, and the problems we are trying to solve are real problems. That’s the big change.”

To illustrate the impact of AI, Wang compared the technology to the leap from bicycles to cars, airplanes, and then rockets, advancements which have not only accelerated movement but also transformed how people think about what is possible.

Discussing the Chinese market, Wang noted that while 30 to 40 years ago, the country was primarily a market to sell solutions, it has since become a testbest where new technologies can mature quickly through rapid deployment and feedback. This environment has accelerated AI innovation cycles, and is exemplified by the rise of models such as DeepSeek and Kimi.

“In my experience at Alibaba Cloud, I would say [China] has a very important function in establishing a new technology, making sure that this technology is mature enough, and then serving as a testbed,” Wang said. “[That’s why] the innovation cycle in Chinese AI has been so fast.”

He added that intense competition in the market is further accelerating progress, fueling innovation.

“You can have very fast iterations of the technology because of this competition,” Wang said.

“But if you’re good enough, you can easily catch up. I don’t think it’s as brutal as people think. It’s more of a marathon, than a sprint. It’s a long journey, and it is still at the very beginning. So it’s an exciting time, especially for the youngsters.”

On current challenges, Wang said that while computing power is often cited as the main hurdle to AI development, the more pressing need is actually creativity and applications.

“People always said that computing power probably is the barrier, but I don’t think that’s the case at this moment. Perhaps in the long term it will be. Also, models from companies like DeepSeek and Moonshot are already good enough,” Wang said.

“We really need to find people with creativity to build applications for these models. Today, we are so biased because ChatGPT is the only AI application that most people think about, but we need to build new applications that can scale just like ChatGPT.”

The acceleration of AI development reflects how both consumers and enterprises are embracing the technology. A mid-2024 McKinsey and Company survey polled more than 1,400 organizations and found that 78% were using AI in at least one business function. The figure marks a 6-point increase from 72% in early 2024 and a 23-point increase from 55% a year earlier.

Adoption of generative AI (genAI) in particular is the strongest in IT and in marketing and sales, helping developers write, debug, and test code faster, and allowing marketing teams to deliver personalized content, scale outreach, and increase conversion.

Unsurprisingly, the technology sector leads in genAI adoption, with 88% of respondents using the technology in at least one function, followed by professional services at 80%, and advanced industries at 79%. Financial services rank sixth across the sectors studied with an adoption rate of 40% as of mid-2024.

In the consumer segment, OpenAI’s widely popular ChatGPT chatbot claims a staggering 700 million weekly active users, with approximately 30% of consumer usage being work-related and approximately 70% is non-work. Three-quarters are conversations focus on practical guidance, seeking information, and writing, according to a new study.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on images via Alibaba Cloud, and rawpixel.com via Freepik