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Chapter 357 The Tsinghua-Peking University Faction

Meet the person, have a deep conversation, and then persuade them...

Since the report meeting ended, Qiao Yu has devoted almost all of her time and energy to this matter.

Qiao Yu specifically compiled a list for recruiting talent. The list primarily consisted of mathematicians under the age of 55 who possessed genuine expertise, had experience in artificial intelligence research, and still exhibited strong research capabilities.
Most of these people also solved the July problem within the time limit.

Qiao Yu felt absolutely no guilt about poaching other people's partners.

Anyway, he mostly recruited professors and researchers from those top universities in the west.

As for the projects in China, there's no need to dig them up at all. Projects included in the national plan can simply be requisitioned in the name of the project team.

No one would refuse.

Everyone in China knows that working with Qiao Yu not only yields results but also pays very well.

After all, Qiao Yu's projects are never short of money. Heaven knows how many companies are waving their checkbooks, hoping Qiao Yu will extract money from them…

Moreover, Qiao Yu felt no psychological pressure whatsoever when it came to poaching students from Western universities.

Back then, heaven knows how much labor force the west siphoned away from China. Now, he's just doing this to collect some interest.

Moreover, he has already exercised great restraint and has a strong sense of boundaries.

More than a thousand renowned mathematicians attended this conference. His list only included 187 people.

Qiao Yu didn't touch those experienced, high-ranking elders. These sparks had to be reserved for the other side.

Although most of them are no longer on the front lines of research, they can secure resources, understand education, and can even teach students...

Once they've brought all the students out, they can recruit more students later.

In any case, the talent mobility mechanism always moves from underdeveloped areas to developed areas.

Even now, let alone a few years from now, it's obvious which place is more developed.

Don't say that China has provided global aid and revitalized cities around the world.

In reality, China is using infrastructure development to drive changes in global regional consumption habits.

What this means for a purely industrialized country is self-evident.

To put it bluntly, it's just another globalized trade system.

When the streets and billboards of major regions around the world are filled with the brands of well-known Chinese manufacturers, what will happen in the future is obvious.

Not to mention that China has an unparalleled advantage in online e-commerce compared to other countries.

Stripped of the veil of Western civilization, human nature is fundamentally the same. It doesn't differ based on skin color.

Not to mention that people who grow up under a happy education system are more easily brainwashed.

In short, Qiao Yu can easily imagine what the world will be like five or even ten years from now.

It can only be said that many people unconsciously underestimate the aggressive nature of Confucianism and overestimate its influence based on the pirate civilization system.

After all, pirate civilization was built on the premise of having far superior military strength compared to other countries. Once this advantage was lost, the civilization built on plunder would quickly collapse and be assimilated.

History has already provided the answer to everything. After all, the pirate civilization is actually quite similar to the civilizations in Chinese history that arose in the deserts and grasslands.

All frontier civilizations that relied on plunder for survival were quickly assimilated once they integrated into the Central Plains.

Qiao Yu concluded that farming is the true path to human civilization.

The difference is that farming in the past was simply about digging for food in the fields. Modern agriculture, on the other hand, involves producing all sorts of modern industrial products from factories.

Of course, Qiao Yu's current plans are not very ambitious.

He felt that of the list of over 180 people, recruiting just 50 would be enough.

The list of key candidates consists of only twelve people, and Qiao Yuding's goal is to recruit half of them.

However, after two weeks of hard work, he reaped very good results.

After careful consideration, ninety-three mathematicians agreed to come to China to join the Meta-Mathematics Project...

Ten of the twelve key candidates were present.

After careful consideration, Tao Xuanzhi and Peter Schultz both decided to temporarily relocate to China and join the Yanbei International Mathematical Research Center...

In addition to these two, Qiao Yu also poached a total of seven professors from the Institute for Advanced Study and the Department of Mathematics at Princeton.

Three of them had previously won the Fields Medal.

If people could know this from beyond the grave, it's hard to imagine what Professor Lotte Dugan would be thinking at this moment.

After all, Qiao Yu specifically mentioned mourning his passing at his report meeting, but afterwards he casually poached seven pillar-level mathematicians from the university where he had worked for most of his life...

Moreover, the agreement signed was a lifelong confidentiality agreement.

In other words, even if the Metamathematics project is discontinued in the future, due to this confidentiality agreement, they cannot freely switch jobs elsewhere, let alone return to Princeton.

Of course, in return, the project team will ensure that these professors will be financially secure for the rest of their lives.

Even if they don't work in the metamathematics and general artificial intelligence project group in the future, they can still receive a special allowance every month that will allow them to live a comfortable life.

Of course, this specifically refers to those who are doing well in China.

As these contracts were signed, the academic community gradually reached a consensus.

There was no other way. When more than a dozen Fields Medal-winning mathematicians collectively spoke out, arguing that artificial intelligence consciousness developed based on mathematical consciousness could not possibly have the idea of ​​destroying human civilization, but would only promote human civilization toward conquering the stars, people's views were easily reversed.

Of course, these collective voices cannot change everyone's mind. But the idea of ​​machine consciousness, or the threat of artificial intelligence, has ultimately become a minority view.

This is actually related to the way mathematicians debate.

Unlike debates in the humanities.

These mathematicians presented detailed mathematical proofs to support their arguments.

Moreover, these mathematicians who have won the Fields Medal do not directly refute the views of their opponents.

However, if you want to prove that the ultimate development of artificial intelligence will definitely destroy human civilization, please provide a sound mathematical proof and point out where the uncertainty of mathematical consciousness lies in the future.

If there is a rigorous proof process, everything will be fine. These bigwigs not only do not mind changing course and agreeing with these ideas, but are even willing to recommend them for the Fields Medal.

However, if you can't prove it and just use philosophical debates or plots from science fiction movies as evidence, then sorry, not only will it not attract attention, but it will also be directly criticized.

High-class intellectuals can insult others without using profanity, but their insults are often dirtier than swear words—the kind that can cure low blood pressure.

Just like that scholar who was most vocal against general artificial intelligence online, Tao Xuanzhi directly published this person's educational background, professional experience, and awards on his blog, and then meticulously analyzed the shady dealings behind those prestigious universities followed by "XX College." He finally gave an eight-character assessment—"Ignorant and incompetent, a swindler."

That is indeed a very reasonable and well-founded evaluation, just like a mathematician solving a proof problem with clear arguments.

However, it is much clearer and more understandable than mathematical proofs, and ordinary people can easily understand it.

Unfortunately, the proofs given by mathematicians regarding the harmlessness of mathematical consciousness are too complex.

It's not just that the average person can't understand it; even most professors and PhDs who specialize in mathematics find it hard to comprehend.

Not to mention the opponents.

Although Tao Xuanzhi's blog also uses mathematical proofs, anyone who can read can understand them.

As a result, so-called opinion leaders gradually became hesitant to speak out on this matter.

After all, the mainstream academic community worldwide agrees that developing general artificial intelligence will only help human civilization advance rapidly.

To stand out at this point is to confront the mainstream academic community.

Moreover, mathematicians, who seem to be unassuming and unambitious, can really delve into a person's fundamental nature when they get serious...

Unfortunately, many public intellectuals who like to express their opinions online are not honest and their true character cannot withstand scrutiny.

After all, truly capable people either have work that is recognized by the academic community and have won major awards, or they are truly dedicated to working hard on the front line to prepare for recognition. How can they have time to be opinion leaders every day?
As for those scholars who do indeed possess genuine expertise, and have even won Fields Medals or Nobel Prizes, there are naturally also those who oppose continuing to advance research into general artificial intelligence.

However, such people do not immediately speak out after scholars of equal standing present their arguments and reasoning processes.

Instead, they began to bury themselves in studying metamathematics, hoping to find loopholes in these arguments before they would speak up to refute them.

After all, this is the normal way mathematicians debate.

Obviously, this is not a task that can be completed in a short period of time.

In short, ever since Tao Xuanzhi published that long blog post that directly embarrassed a well-known online scholar, the academic community has heard almost no dissenting opinions.

But Tao Xuanzhi actually had a lot of unspeakable difficulties regarding this matter...

Actually, he didn't post that blog at all. Qiao Yu just borrowed it and used it. He even suspected that the blog content was actually prepared in July.

Based on his current understanding of Qiao Yu, this guy doesn't have the patience to dig up the secrets of someone who doesn't know anything.

Regardless, this blog post is a good thing for the entire project team. At least it gets the research recognized by the International Mathematical Union's ethics department.

This widespread acceptance is not important for the research itself, but it is very important for the future promotion of general artificial intelligence.

After all, according to Qiao Yu's concept, once it matures in July, it will serve human civilization and be used in various industries, especially in the field of space exploration.

Rather than just serving as an auxiliary tool for mathematical research.

Having dealt with the world for a long time, Qiao Yu knew very well that it was impossible for one person to fight against the world.

No matter what you want to do, you have to gain the support of a group of people first, and then influence more people.

What's needed is a large number of people to create an overwhelming advantage.

It would be truly foolish for a small group of people to stubbornly try to shake the interests of a large number of people.

In other words, Qiao Yu's ideas are actually similar to those of many so-called public intellectuals.

It's nothing more than public intellectuals using seemingly plausible but ultimately flawed reasoning to brainwash their followers, and then shouting slogans about independent thinking.

Qiao Yu, on the other hand, took the upper-level route, using rigorous mathematical proofs to get a group of influential academic figures on his side, and then hiding behind the scenes, letting these figures cheer for him.

The latter is clearly more convincing.

After all, these mathematical giants not only have their own influence, but their students and their descendants are also the backbone of academia.

For Huaqing and Yanbei, this situation was even more welcome.

In particular, the two deans of Huaqing and Yanbei Mathematical Colleges have been all smiles lately, no matter who they meet.

Without exaggeration, after Qiao Yu used meta-mathematics and general artificial intelligence research to bring these top mathematicians over, Huaqing and Yanbei have become world-class centers for mathematical research.

This position will remain unshakeable for at least several decades!
The two schools have even begun discussing jointly establishing another international center for mathematical and physical research.

With nearly a hundred mathematicians and professors who enjoy high reputations worldwide and have made great achievements, it would be a crime not to make good use of them.

Although most of them signed agreements that did not require them to teach undergraduate students.

But since they're already here, supervising some graduate students shouldn't be a problem, right? Not to mention that these mathematicians need assistants to conduct their research.

As for the benefits stipulated in the contract...

Not to mention that Qiao Yu's meta-mathematics project itself has a lot of funding, Huaqing and Yanbei have been rich in money over the years.

After all, China's economy has been overheated in recent years, and investment in scientific research and education has increased accordingly.

Not to mention that Hua Qing and Yan Bei are practically each other's sons...

In short, under Qiao Yu's management, the Meta-Mathematics project is truly not short of people.

Especially in the area of ​​fundamental mathematical theory research, these mathematicians who had signed contracts, after settling into their respective roles over a few months, very consciously began to sit down together to integrate and then subdivide the fundamental theories of metamathematics...

Correspondingly, July's abilities also began to grow stronger...

Once again in charge, Qiao Yu was finally able to rightfully delegate most of the tasks.

After all, he truly believed in the intelligence and abilities of these mathematicians; all they lacked was a spark of inspiration.

Of course, it wasn't without its troubles...

For example, when so many capable people gather together to study the same project, their ideas often clash fiercely, and they frequently end up arguing over a particular issue.

If the argument gets really heated, it will eventually come to him, and when emotions run high, they often won't care how busy he is...

In short, it's impossible to completely stay out of it...

Qiao Yu even suspected that some mathematicians who came to him were being given dirty tricks by someone behind the scenes...

Otherwise, why would there be so many controversies every few days? It would be difficult for him to even have a few days of proper rest during his long vacation.

It just goes to show how complicated human nature is...

It's so easy to go astray! (End of Chapter)

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