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April5,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
Takeaways from Alibaba Computing Conference 2017 in Shenzhen Part 1
TheFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyteamattendedtheAlibabaComputingConference2017inShenzhen.Theeventfeaturedcloseto100speakers,includingseniormanagementfromAlibabaanditsstrategicpartners.Inthisfirstofatwo-partreport,weoutlineourkeytakeawaysfromthetwo-dayevent.
1) HCItechnology:Alibabaisattheforefrontofhuman-computerinteraction(HCI)businessproducts,inourview.TheAI-poweredHCIapplicationsareabletodealwithhigh-volumecustomerrequestsandcanfacilitatebusinessdecisionmaking.ExamplesincludeAliMeandDianxiaomi,whichwaslaunchedtohelpsellersautomatecustomerserviceonTaobaoandTmall.
2) Healthindustry:TechnologicalinnovationisneededtosolvethemedicalresourceimbalanceintheChinesehealthcareindustry.WebelievetheindustrywillbenefitfromthetechnologyproductsgeneratedbythepartnershipbetweenAliCloud,thecloudcomputingarmofAlibabaGroup,andIntelononeofAsia’sleadingcloudplatformsfocusingonprecisionmedicine.
3) Onlinevideomarket:TheonlinevideomarketinChinahasbeenimpactedbytheshiftfromPCtomobileandtheincreasingwillingnessofuserstopayforcontent.AlibabaCloudissupportingthetechnologicaltransformationintheonlinevideoindustryandAlibaba-ownedYoukuTudouisamongtheleaders.
AlibabaComputingConference2017WeattendedtheAlibabaComputingConference2017inShenzhen,whichfeaturedcloseto100speakers,includingseniormanagementfromAlibabaanditsstrategicpartners.Topicscoveredattheconferenceincludedtheapplicationsofartificialintelligence(AI)andhuman-computerinteraction(HCI)technologies,theecosystemofAlibabaCloud(AliCloud)andtrendsinareassuchasthesharingeconomyandonlinevideo.Inthisfirstofatwo-partreport,wecover:1)HCIanditsbusinessapplications;2)technologyinnovationsinthehealthindustry;and3)recenttrendsintheonlinevideoindustry.
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April5,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
TechnologicalBreakthroughsinHCIAlibabahasmadeseveralbreakthroughsinthefieldofhuman-computerinteraction(HCI)technology.Thisyear’seventfeaturedareal-timetranscriptsystemwhichdisplayedthetextofthevariousspeechesonscreen,showcasingthecapacityofAlibaba’sautomaticspeechrecognition(ASR)technology.TheASRtechnologyusesanalgorithmthatbalancesspeedandaccuracy.Itsmaturetexttospeech(TTS)technologycanalsoproducevoicesthatarecustomizedtodifferentcontexts.TheconferencefeaturedTTSdemoswithsamplevoicesthatareusedfornewsreportingandstorytellingtochildren.
Dr.MinChu,DirectorofDataApplication&Service,AlibabaCloudComputing,spokeabouttheprogressAlibabahasachievedinthepasttwoyears,thankstothegroup’scapabilitiesinmachinelearninganditscomputingcapacity,whichwouldhavetakenmorethan20yearsusingtraditionalresearchinfrastructure.
TheHuman-ComputerInteraction(HCI)EcosystemDr.ChuintroducedtheHCItechnologyandprovidedanoverviewofitsecosystem:
1. Portals:
• DevicesconnectedbyYunOS(theoperatingsystemdevelopedbyAliCloud):Cellphones,automobiles,onlineTV,smartwearables
• Apps:Alipay,UCWeb,Autonavi
2. Coretechnologyandcontent:Automaticspeechrecognition(ASR),naturallanguageunderstanding(NLU),dialoguemanagement(DM),naturallanguagegeneration(NLG)andtexttospeech(TTS).
3. Infrastructure:Deeplearning,computingcapacity
Figure1.BasicTechnicalFlowofHCI
Source:Alibaba/FungGlobalRetail&Technology
DM
ASR
TTS
Human
NLG
NLU
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April5,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
VariousBusinessApplicationsofHCITheHCItechnologyisembeddedinproductofferingswithintheAlibabaecosystem.TheAI-poweredapplicationscandealwithhigh-volumecustomerrequestsandfacilitatebusinessdecisionmaking.Questionsaboutdeliveryandinventorystatusthatarechallengingforhumancustomerservicecanbeansweredinsecondsbybigdata,andwithhigheraccuracy.
1) AutomaticCustomerService:AliMeAliMeisanAI-customerserviceplatformembeddedinTaobaoMobile.TheappwaslaunchedinApril2016andtodate,hasapproximately3milliondailyactiveusers(DAU).AliMesupportsfourprimaryfunctions:
1. BasicQ&A:Theuserinterfacelistsoutfrequently-askedquestions.Userscanreadtheanswersbyselectingthequestionstheyareinterestedin.
2. Transactioninformationenquiries:CustomerscanenquireaboutinformationonaspecifictransactionintheirTaobaoaccountbytypingorspeakingtheirquestionstotheChatbot.Informationthatcanbeprovidedbythechatbotincludesanitem’slocation,deliverystatusandrefundprogress,allpoweredbyAlibaba’sbigdatatechnology.
3. Shoppingguides:ThechatbotcanhelpcustomersfindtheproductstheywantthroughaseriesofHCIactions.Userscaninputbytext,voiceoraphotodescriptionofaspecificproduct,andthesystemwillreturnalistofrecommendations.Userscannarrowtherangeoftheresultthroughmorespecificfilters,suchasbrand,color,gender,etc.Duringademosessionattheconference,thespeakerdemonstratedhowcustomerscanfindanexactproductwithin30secondsoftalkingtothechatbot.
4. Dailylifeassistance:Usingtheapp,userscanreceiveinformationonweather,traffic,booktickets,aswellasassistancewithothertypesofrequests.Webelievethisfunctionhasthepotentialtoincreaseuserengagement.
Figure2.AliMeUserInterface
Source:alixiaomi.com
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April5,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
2) AIforBusiness:DianxiaomiDianxiaomiisthefirstAIproductthatAlibabalaunchedforbusinessusersonTaobaoandTmall.Afreetrialversionwasopenforapplicationduringtheconference,andtheofficialversionwillbelaunchedinJune2017.
DianxiaomiisdesignedtohelpsellersonTaobaoautomatetheirservices,increasetheconversionrate,reducecostsandhandlehigh-volumesalesactivitysuchasthe“Singles’DaySale.”Theappisbasedonmachine-learningtechnologythatcanautomaticallydealwithcustomerrequests.Theappisabletocover70%oftherequestvolumewithover90%accuracy.
Figure3.DianxiaomiUserInterface
Source:FungGlobalRetail&Technology
3) ApplicationsofAIintheHealthcareIndustryAlibabaCloudETsupportsinnovationinthehealthcareindustry,largelypoweredbyaseriesofpartnershipprojectswithIntel.ThehealthcareindustryinChinaisdrivingincreasingdemandfortechnologicalinnovationtodealwiththeproblemscausedbytheagingpopulationandthesupply-demandimbalanceintheallocationofmedicalresources.TogetherwithIntelandBFI(BeijingGenomicsInstitute),thelargestgenomicsresearchcenterintheworld,AliCloudlaunchedaprecisionhealthcareplatformwhichcontainsover170applicationsand170TBofgenedata,high-accuracyultrasoundrobotsandanintelligentmedicallabinZhejiangprovince.
Figure4.EightNewTechnologicalInnovationsintheMedicalIndustry
Source:PwC2017HealthIndustryTrendReport
AI
RemoteMedicine
MedicalRobots
VR
3DPrinting
NewGenetest
IoT
DigitalSupplyChain
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April5,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
OnlineVideoBelow,wesummarizethekeypointsoncurrenttrendsandtheoutlookforChina’sonlinevideomarketthatweresharedattheconference.
• ThemobilevideomarkethasbecomeamajormarketinChina.Thepenetrationrateofmobilevideohasincreasedto92%inthepastfouryearsfrom57%in2013.Withtherapidexpansionoftheonlinevideomarket,onlinevideoadvertisingismoreimportantthaneverforthemarketingandadvertisingindustry.China’sonlinevideoadvertisingindustryisestimatedtoreach¥68.3billionby2019,from¥35.5billioncurrently,ofwhichmobilevideoadvertisingmakesupover80%.
• Furthermore,users’willingnesstopayforcontentandserviceshasbecomestrongerthanever.Thenumberofpayingusersononlinevideoplatformsdoubledto6.1millionin2016from2.9millionin2015,andisprojectedtoreach100millionin2019,accordingtoanalysis.Therevenuefrompaidcontentandservicesisalsoprojectedtoreach¥15.1billionin2017and¥23.4billionin2019.
• Theonlinevideomarketisdominatedbyseveralleadingapps.InJanuary2017,thetopthreeonlinevideoappshadover100millionmonthlyactiveusers(MAU):iQIYwith244.6million(MAU),TencentVideo2with231.2millionandAlibaba-ownedYoukuTudouwith152.9millionMAU.
ConclusionWeareconvincedthatAlibabaisattheforefrontofthedevelopmentofHCItechnologyanditsbusinessapplications.However,itcouldtakemonthsoryearsforsomeofthemoreadvancedHCItechnologiesthatweredemonstratedattheconferencetomatureandreachthemassmarket,duetotherelativelyhighdevelopmentcostsandsophisticatedhardwarewhichtheyrequire.
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April5,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
DeborahWeinswig,CPAManagingDirectorFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyNewYork:917.655.6790HongKong:852.6119.1779China:86.186.1420.3016deborahweinswig@fung1937.comEsmePauAnalystZaneYangResearchAssistantHONGKONG:8thFloor,LiFungTower888CheungShaWanRoad,KowloonHongKongTel:85223004406LONDON:242–246MaryleboneRoadLondon,NW16JQUnitedKingdomTel:44(0)2076168988NEWYORK:1359Broadway,9thFloorNewYork,NY10018Tel:6468397017
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