阿里为何重金押宝AI芯片和量子计算
上周在云栖大会的开幕式上，阿里云总裁胡晓明邀请大会主持人上台品茶，不过品茶之前，主持人需要辨别手工冲的茶和机器冲的茶的区别。
正当主持人看着两杯差不多的茶，无从分辨时，胡晓明掏出手机，每杯茶拍了照片，发送到天猫开发的应用程序，这个程序经过专门训练的算法可以分辨不同的茶叶。应用程序轻松地解决了这个问题。
这是阿里巴巴对基础技术研究与其业务需求之间相互作用的一个小例子。之后的会议上，阿里巴巴CTO、达摩院院长张建锋宣布，将阿里在 4 月份收购的中天微与达摩院自研芯片业务进行整合，成立平头哥半导体有限公司，从事芯片的自研开发与战略布局。张建锋同时表示，阿里将在明年年中推出首款神经网络芯片，并计划在两三年内造出一款真正的量子芯片。
会后，张建锋接受了《麻省理工科技评论》的采访，围绕公司未来计划展开了讨论。
《麻省理工科技评论》：阿里巴巴为什么要成立芯片公司？
Why did Alibaba create a chip company?
张建锋：在芯片变得更加专业化的今天，自研芯片能为我们带来更大的优势。如今很多公司都在开发 AI 芯片，但每家公司都有不同的业务需求，所以不同的公司都需要根据自己的软件量身定制芯片，这是传统芯片公司无法做到的。
Zhang：This gives us an advantage. Chips are becoming more specialized. Many companies are developing AI chips, but each company has different data loads and business needs. This means each company needs customized chips optimized for its own software. This is something traditional chip companies can’t do.
But of course, we will also utilize some already widely used chip designs, and combine these with our own designs to create more value.
《麻省理工科技评论》：“平头哥”将采用什么样的商业模式？
What business model will the chip company pursue?
张建锋：大致有三个方向:首先是知识产权许可；二是向各个行业提供处理器解决方案，比如我们为家用电器和汽车制造定制化的处理器；第三则是为阿里云的数据中心制造芯片。
There are three routes. The first is IP licensing. We can license our chip designs for other companies to use. The second is providing processor solutions for various industries through IP aggregation. For example, we can provide customized processors for home appliances and cars. The third is making chips for our own cloud and data centers.
《麻省理工科技评论》：那阿里巴巴的量子计算的发展路线呢？
What about Alibaba’s road map for quantum computing?
张建锋：我们在量子计算上还有很长时间要走，因为在目前阶段，我们还没有自己的处理器。而有了处理器之后，我们还需要解决如何使用的问题，并不是所有任务都适用于量子计算机。 我们没有把量子比特的数量作为我们唯一的目标，由于需要确保所有的量子比特能够无缝可靠地协同工作，所以你拥有的量子比特数量越多，其中遇到的困难就越多。因此我们要解决的是量子计算的工程问题，比如如何在量子处理器上运行现有的程序？以及确定哪些计算任务适用于量子计算机。 同时，我们正在杭州总部建造一台超导量子计算机，希望能够实现可扩展的目标。
This is going to play out over a longer term, because we don’t have a processor for it yet. Once we have a processor, we’ll need to answer the question of what to use it for. Quantum computers might be good for applications in cryptography or large simulations of materials, but they will not be suitable for all kinds of tasks. And the more qubits you have, the more challenges there are, because you need to make sure all these qubits can work together seamlessly and reliably.
The number of qubits is not our only goal. We want to solve the engineering problems of quantum computing. How do you run existing programs on quantum processors? You’re not going to run every program on quantum processors, right? So you’ll need to determine which computation tasks are for quantum computers and which are for classical ones. We are building a superconducting quantum computer in our Hangzhou headquarters, and we want to reach a point where quantum computing is scalable.
麻省理工科技评论：你如何看待达摩院目前的各项研究工作？
How do you prioritize DAMO Academy’s research?
张建锋：当下，数据和 AI 是达摩院研究工作的核心，所有的工作也都围绕这两者展开。目前几乎所有的数据都要通过我们的 AI 进行处理，这里的AI部分则包括了算法和处理器。
Right now all of our work revolves around data and intelligence. We’ll have more and more data, so how do you collect, store, and process it? We process almost all our data using AI, which is the intelligence part of DAMO’s research. And this includes algorithms and processors.
麻省理工科技评论：阿里巴巴是如何吸引技术人才？
How does Alibaba attract technical talent?
张建锋：阿里巴巴的大部分业务都是基础服务，如电商、云计算和物流等，同时这些也是整个中国的基础服务，因此，中国的不断发展也将为阿里巴巴提供更多的空间。同时很多人来到阿里，是因为他们认为他们的工作可以改变许多人的工作和生活，甚至可以在某个领域内推动国家的进步。这些都是因为阿里巴巴是一个平台，你的每一个微小的工作都能通过这个平台被不断放大，这带来的经济价值和社会价值对许多技术人才来说非常有吸引力。
Most of Alibaba’s businesses are basic services, such as e-commerce, cloud computing, and logistics, which are services fundamental to the entire country of China. The fact that China wants to keep growing will provide a lot more space for Alibaba. People want to come here because they feel what they do can make a difference for many people, or even a whole country’s progress in a particular area. This is how Alibaba is unique as a platform. It means every bit of work you do on this platform can be amplified. I think that kind of social and economic value is very attractive for technical experts.
Source: MIT Technology Review
Translated by Coral Zhong
上周在云栖大会的开幕式上，阿里云总裁胡晓明邀请大会主持人上台品茶，不过品茶之前，主持人需要辨别手工冲的茶和机器冲的茶的区别。
正当主持人看着两杯差不多的茶，无从分辨时，胡晓明掏出手机，每杯茶拍了照片，发送到天猫开发的应用程序，这个程序经过专门训练的算法可以分辨不同的茶叶。应用程序轻松地解决了这个问题。
这是阿里巴巴对基础技术研究与其业务需求之间相互作用的一个小例子。之后的会议上，阿里巴巴CTO、达摩院院长张建锋宣布，将阿里在 4 月份收购的中天微与达摩院自研芯片业务进行整合，成立平头哥半导体有限公司，从事芯片的自研开发与战略布局。张建锋同时表示，阿里将在明年年中推出首款神经网络芯片，并计划在两三年内造出一款真正的量子芯片。
会后，张建锋接受了《麻省理工科技评论》的采访，围绕公司未来计划展开了讨论。
《麻省理工科技评论》：阿里巴巴为什么要成立芯片公司？
Why did Alibaba create a chip company?
张建锋：在芯片变得更加专业化的今天，自研芯片能为我们带来更大的优势。如今很多公司都在开发 AI 芯片，但每家公司都有不同的业务需求，所以不同的公司都需要根据自己的软件量身定制芯片，这是传统芯片公司无法做到的。
Zhang：This gives us an advantage. Chips are becoming more specialized. Many companies are developing AI chips, but each company has different data loads and business needs. This means each company needs customized chips optimized for its own software. This is something traditional chip companies can’t do.
But of course, we will also utilize some already widely used chip designs, and combine these with our own designs to create more value.
《麻省理工科技评论》：“平头哥”将采用什么样的商业模式？
What business model will the chip company pursue?
张建锋：大致有三个方向:首先是知识产权许可；二是向各个行业提供处理器解决方案，比如我们为家用电器和汽车制造定制化的处理器；第三则是为阿里云的数据中心制造芯片。
There are three routes. The first is IP licensing. We can license our chip designs for other companies to use. The second is providing processor solutions for various industries through IP aggregation. For example, we can provide customized processors for home appliances and cars. The third is making chips for our own cloud and data centers.
《麻省理工科技评论》：那阿里巴巴的量子计算的发展路线呢？
What about Alibaba’s road map for quantum computing?
张建锋：我们在量子计算上还有很长时间要走，因为在目前阶段，我们还没有自己的处理器。而有了处理器之后，我们还需要解决如何使用的问题，并不是所有任务都适用于量子计算机。 我们没有把量子比特的数量作为我们唯一的目标，由于需要确保所有的量子比特能够无缝可靠地协同工作，所以你拥有的量子比特数量越多，其中遇到的困难就越多。因此我们要解决的是量子计算的工程问题，比如如何在量子处理器上运行现有的程序？以及确定哪些计算任务适用于量子计算机。 同时，我们正在杭州总部建造一台超导量子计算机，希望能够实现可扩展的目标。
This is going to play out over a longer term, because we don’t have a processor for it yet. Once we have a processor, we’ll need to answer the question of what to use it for. Quantum computers might be good for applications in cryptography or large simulations of materials, but they will not be suitable for all kinds of tasks. And the more qubits you have, the more challenges there are, because you need to make sure all these qubits can work together seamlessly and reliably.
The number of qubits is not our only goal. We want to solve the engineering problems of quantum computing. How do you run existing programs on quantum processors? You’re not going to run every program on quantum processors, right? So you’ll need to determine which computation tasks are for quantum computers and which are for classical ones. We are building a superconducting quantum computer in our Hangzhou headquarters, and we want to reach a point where quantum computing is scalable.
麻省理工科技评论：你如何看待达摩院目前的各项研究工作？
How do you prioritize DAMO Academy’s research?
张建锋：当下，数据和 AI 是达摩院研究工作的核心，所有的工作也都围绕这两者展开。目前几乎所有的数据都要通过我们的 AI 进行处理，这里的AI部分则包括了算法和处理器。
Right now all of our work revolves around data and intelligence. We’ll have more and more data, so how do you collect, store, and process it? We process almost all our data using AI, which is the intelligence part of DAMO’s research. And this includes algorithms and processors.
麻省理工科技评论：阿里巴巴是如何吸引技术人才？
How does Alibaba attract technical talent?
张建锋：阿里巴巴的大部分业务都是基础服务，如电商、云计算和物流等，同时这些也是整个中国的基础服务，因此，中国的不断发展也将为阿里巴巴提供更多的空间。同时很多人来到阿里，是因为他们认为他们的工作可以改变许多人的工作和生活，甚至可以在某个领域内推动国家的进步。这些都是因为阿里巴巴是一个平台，你的每一个微小的工作都能通过这个平台被不断放大，这带来的经济价值和社会价值对许多技术人才来说非常有吸引力。
Most of Alibaba’s businesses are basic services, such as e-commerce, cloud computing, and logistics, which are services fundamental to the entire country of China. The fact that China wants to keep growing will provide a lot more space for Alibaba. People want to come here because they feel what they do can make a difference for many people, or even a whole country’s progress in a particular area. This is how Alibaba is unique as a platform. It means every bit of work you do on this platform can be amplified. I think that kind of social and economic value is very attractive for technical experts.
Source: MIT Technology Review
Translated by Coral Zhong
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