Alibaba has an edge in machine learning? The CEO of Alibaba is palpably clueless about anything relating to do with machine learning and I haven't seen any evidence that anyone else at the helm of the org is any better. Watch Elon Musk try really hard not to cringe at the shit Jack Ma says on the topic of ML. [this video]
Jack Ma cannot be trusted. He swings high and low, doesn't know where the ball is. He once hit a Alibaba home run and thinks he is a hotshot. It's hard to trust Jack Ma with undertones of the CCP propaganda in this humanitarian aid. Elon and Jack Ma debates in Shanghai, just listen this guy talk: [this video] Edit: I am not defending the United States. Just look at what our president said this afternoon. Couldn't even string a cohesive sentence together. If Jack Ma is genuine and wants to help - who knows? To me it feels like a huge power move as the OP said - it feels "correct" to me. This news is trending big time on Twitter.
Have you listened to Jack Ma talk? He sounds like some kind of total moron in the panel discussion with Elon Musk. I know, you're thinking "It's not his first language. That's what it is" but go watch it yourself¹. The ideas he expresses seem completely unformed and make it look like he's not operating at a particularly high level. But Alibaba is real. It's a real company doing real things and delivering real value. It's a giant success. Now I'm not saying Nikola will be (maybe those shorts for 2022 are pretty cheap) but people speak like complete idiots and still run successful companies that they start. ¹ [this video] Here's a highlight: [this video]
I'm more skeptical after seeing this: [this video] I would have expected being a party member to just be the default in order for anyone to do anything of substance in China, but he comes across extremely poorly in that interview. So poorly, that I find it more likely that the companies are being propped up/operated by the government than someone like him could successfully build/run them. Maybe I'm indexing too much on that, but watch it for yourself, definitely weird.
He was also being widely ridiculed in the west over this interaction with Elon Musk in August 2019, back when Elon was still kinda widely popular. [this video] "I call AI Alibaba Intelligence", etc. (Yeah, I know, Apple stole that one.) Reddit moment: "When Elon Musk realised China's richest man is an idiot ( Jack Ma )" [link] I can see the extended loss of face of China (real or perceived) at the time being a factor.
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