AI, cloud computing, metaverse, ChatGPT ...... The wave of Internet iterative change is surging. What is the development direction of the next generation Internet? What opportunities will the development of these technologies bring? Recently, at the Next Generation Internet sub-forum of the Boao Forum for Asia 2023 Annual Conference, a number of industry experts’ lively discussion attracted the attention of many netizens and media.

What are the characteristics of the next generation Internet?

“AI-driven, all-true connectivity and deep industry penetration are the three major trends of the next-generation Internet.” Tang Daosheng, Senior Executive Vice President of Tencent Group and CEO of Cloud and Smart Industries Group, said that AI-driven application scenarios will be an important development direction, and the content of the future Internet may be AI-generated and not limited to the connection between people and people, people and services, and people and content. Real-time interactive two-way video may become the information carrier of the next-generation Internet, and at the same time, virtual-real fusion scenarios will become possible, where people can interact with the remote world through the Internet.

“The next-generation Internet is not only ubiquitous, but also has a very important feature that ordinary users as producers own the distribution of the rights and interests of produced content, which is the decentralisation emphasized by Web 3.0.” Yuan Hui, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Xiao-i Group, said that each generation of technology development in the Internet is essentially for speeding up the efficiency of information exchange and completing the exchange with the lowest cost.

“The next-generation Internet will move towards convergence in terms of technology and architecture.” CEO of Nokia Communication Investment (China) Co., Ltd., Markus Borchert, dissected the three levels of the next-generation Internet through the future metaverse: the consumer metaverse, which will apply technologies such as AI and VR, the enterprise metaverse, such as digital training apps and other fields and the industrial metaverse, which will not only achieve great development but also be more commercially valuable.

Underlying core technology support is key

“The core technology in the Internet architecture is the most important, and the underlying Internet technology is the cornerstone of Internet development.” Wu Jianping, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at Tsinghua University, said that the current international competition in this field of technology is very cruel, but in Internet technology, China has gradually gained its own voice from tracking and learning. “In 2015, there were 3,000 Internet standards worldwide and only one led by China. There are now 9,000 Internet standards worldwide, and China has taken the lead in more than 200 of them.” Wu said, “China’s current volume of science and technology and the quality of its talents will definitely yield several results with continued investment for a decade or two.”

A host of guests pointed out the need to focus on the underlying technologies to drive the development of the next-generation Internet. Yuan Hui stressed that Chinese technology companies should have the spirit of craftsmanship and dare to fight for the core track and hard technologies, as a new era is coming that requires the underlying core technologies.

With ChatGPT, people are imagining more about the next generation of Internet. Asked about the impact of AI technologies such as ChatGPT, Yuan Hui said, “AI is at the core of the changes throughout the world, and the metaverse is a process of re-enhancement of our perception of the whole world.” Driven by AI technologies such as ChatGPT, the next generation Internet will be smarter, more diverse and serve the development of human society.

In addition to technology and infrastructure construction, the development of the next-generation Internet also needs to consider issues such as personal information privacy protection, platform monopoly and cybercrime, so that the next-generation Internet can better serve the development of human society, according to Nokia Shanghai Bell’s CEO and Nokia Greater China’s President, Markus Borchert.