As Alibaba's Jack Ma is due to step down from the position of Executive Chairman today, his quotes and positive statements hold an evergreen relevance. His recent panel discussion, on Artificial Intelligence at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, where the co-panellist was Tesla’s Elon Musk, won him more admirers from across the globe. But most importantly, Jack Ma who rose from humble beginnings would be remembered as an inspiring entrepreneur; today there is a huge section of budding entrepreneurs who look up to Ma as an inspiration in the world of consumer technology.  

Inspiration for technopreneurs, AI scientists

In this regard, it only becomes worth remembering his famous quote wherein he stated, “Never give up, today is hard tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.” This holds true for technology entrepreneurs holding ambitions at building successful products – like Alibaba’s. Ma’s quote holds good to both technopreneurs as well as the general category – both categories face rejection and being judged almost on a daily basis. In another famous quote on artificial intelligence, Ma states that “Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not a threat to humans.” Ma said these famous lines during the recent panel discussion with Elon Musk. A video of this Shanghai debate is available for viewing here. 

No human-computer competition

Ma also added that despite being terrible, artificial intelligence would not outdo human smartness. He also added that there is no competition between computers and humans as the latter was responsible for the former. This means that humans still control computers and not vice-versa. Ma also summed up the discussion by stating that machines are better to process things with logic, but when it comes to positivity, humans are irreplaceable. Hence, AI would potentially only augment processes rather than snatch away jobs. For now, Daniel Zhang who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the company would succeed Ma. Ma also has the Jack Ma philanthropic foundation and would now focus on societal causes. 

Other famous quotes

In tandem with the above, if you are looking at Ma for inspiration for life, then some more of his quotes on life too are worth checking out. These appear unconventional at first, but the substance comes to fore when analysed. Check out some of these quotes below:

"If there are nine rabbits on the ground, if you want to catch one, just focus on one."

“We are never in lack of money. We lack people with dreams, who can die for those dreams"

"If you are still poor at 35, you deserve it"

"Life is so short, so beautiful, don't be so serious about work, enjoy life"

"You need the right people with you, not the best people"

"A leader should never compare his technical skills with his employees.

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