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LET'S ASK BOLD QUESTIONS AND CHART THE FUTURE WITH OUR THINKING!

The Luohan Academy Annual Digital Economy Conference is a flagship event held each year, with this yearmarking the 5th edition. The conference is committed to convening the world's leading thinkers, fostering interdisciplinary discussions, and facilitating the exchange between theory and practice. it aspires to generate fresh insights and forge new consensus on the most pressing issues and frontier topics of our time. 

Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly and being widely applied, while globalization is getting into a uniquephase oftransformation and restructuring. Together, these two megatrends are setto profoundly shape the futureof human society. in response, this year's conference presents six thematic forums focused on exploring the intersection of Al and globalization, with a particular emphasis on the impact of emerging frontier technologies:

· The Age of Al-Driven Transformation: The Future of Technology, Economy, Industry and Organization
· Al and Finance
· Al, Employment and Organizational Change
· Al in Business Practice
· Coexistence of Machine Intelligence and Human Intelligence: Present and the Future

· The New Landscape oxbalization

Date

June 9 to 10,  2025

Conference Venue

Chengze Garden, National School of Development, Peking University, Beijing.

Conference Agenda

Note: Simultaneous Chinese interpretation will be provided throughout the event.

Forum I: The Age of AI-Driven Transformation: The Future of Technology, Economy, Industry and Organization

09:10-12:30  Moderator: Long Chen, Luohan Academy

Guiding Questions

²  Technological Level: What are the future directions and boundaries of AI, particularly those represented by large language models (LLMs)?

²  Economic Level: To what extent and at what pace will AI influence economic growth and development?

²  Industrial Level: How should different sectors respond to and embrace the opportunities and challenges brought by AI?

²  Organizational Level: In what ways and at what pace will AI profoundly reshape organizational structures and business models?

Speaker lineup (20 minutes per presentation)

n  Some Observations on AI Tech Developments

Hongjiang Zhang (Foreign Member, the US National Academy of Engineering; Founding Chairman, Beijing Academy of AI; former Managing Director, Microsoft Advanced Technology Center; online)

n  Understanding AI Beyond the Cycle

Fei Huang (Vice-President of Alibaba Cloud; Head of Tongyi NLP Lab, Alibaba)

n AI, Coordination and the Future of the Firm

Bengt Holmstrom (Professor, MIT; 2016 Nobel Laureate in Economics; online)

n  AI’s Recent Trends and Potential Impacts on Science, Socio-economic Development, Growth, Productivity and Work

Michael Spence (Professor and Dean, emeritus, at Stanford GSB; 2001 Nobel Laureate in Economics)

n  AI: A Neo-Solow Paradox?

Harry X. Wu (Professor of Economics at National School of Development, Peking University; The Fifth President of the Asia KLEMS Consortium)

n  Mutual Empowerment between AI and Government: Delineating State-Market Boundaries and Collaborative Governance

Xiaojuan Jiang (Professor, University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Former Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council)

Panel discussion (1h): Long Chen, Hongjiang Zhang (online), Fei Huang, Michael Spence, Harry X. Wu, Bengt Holmstrom (online)

Forum II: AI and Finance

14:00-17:30  Moderator: Liyan Yang, University of Toronto

Guiding Questions

²  How should we assess the impact of AI on finance? Which segments of the financial value chain will be most affected?

²  How far have industries like cryptocurrency and Web3 progressed in their development? How will AI reshape mechanisms of trust and verification in finance?

²  Given the highly regulated nature of the financial system, what transformations could innovations in information technology and AI bring about? How should regulatory frameworks adapt to these emerging changes?

Speaker lineup (20 minutes per presentation)

n  Financial Innovation in the Age of AI: Insights and Reflections

Hao Huang (Senior Vice-President, Ant Group)

n  How Might AI Reshape Finance?

Yiping Huang (Boya Distinguished Professor, Dean of National School of Development, Peking University; Member of the Monetary Policy Committee of PBC)

n  Web3 Meets AI: Accelerating the Full Internetization and Digitalization of Finance

Kang Shen (Founder of Hash Global)

n  Cryptocurrency and Web3 in the Age of AI

Lin William Cong (The Rudd Family Professor of Management and Finance, Director of FinTech at Cornell, Senior Economist at Chainlink Labs)

n  Stablecoin and RWA

Chen Lin (Associate Vice-President, HKU, Chair of Finance and Stelux Professor in Finance, HKU Business School)

n  AI and Finance: The Regulatory and Policy Perspective

Andrew Sheng (Distinguished Fellow, Asia Global Institute, HKU; former Chairman, Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong)

Panel discussion (1h10m): Liyan Yang, Yiping Huang, Hao Huang, Kang Shen, Lin William Cong, Chen Lin, Andrew Sheng

Forum III: AI, Employment and Organizational Change

14:00-17:30  Moderator: Wenlan Qian, National University of Singapore

Guiding Questions

²  How will employment, income distribution, and social welfare be reshaped by artificial intelligence? What trends and potential patterns might emerge from this transformation?

²  How will enterprises and organizations be restructured by machine intelligence? Could we see the rise of organizations driven by machine intelligence rather than led by human intelligence in the future?

²  How should society respond to the impact of AI on jobs and organizations?

Speaker lineup (20 minutes per presentation)

n  Employment and Skills in the Age of AI

Christopher Pissarides (Professor, LSE; 2010 Nobel Laureate in Economics; online)

n  AI, Employment and Business Organization: Evidence from China’s Online Recruitment Data

Lixing Li (Professor of Economics and Director of China Center for Public Finance at National School of Development, Peking University)

n  AI Reshaping the Future: Organizational Transformation and Talent Evolution in China’s Labor Market

Kebin Dai (Founder and CEO at Liepin.com)

n  The Transformative Impact of AI on Organization

Ning Li (Department Chair of Leadership and Organization Management, Flextronics Chair Professor, Tsinghua University)

n  The Compression Effect: Organizational Transformation in the Age of AI

Jin Li (Zhang Yonghong Professor in Economics and Strategy, Area Head of Management and Strategy, HKU; Director of HKU Centre for AI, Management and Organization)

Panel discussion (1h30m): Wenlan Qian, Lixing Li, Kebin Dai, Jin Li, Ning Li

Forum IV: AI in Business Practice

09:00-12:30  Moderator: Long Chen, Luohan Academy

Guiding Questions

²  With breakthroughs in both performance and cost, machine intelligence is entering a new phase of widespread and inclusive industrial application. What are the defining features and emerging trends of this new stage?

²  How will AI reshape business models, transform industry structures, and alter competitive dynamics?

²  How should enterprises of different sizes and at various stages of development embrace AI?

Speaker lineup (20 minutes per presentation)

n  The Underlying Logic of Global Chips Development

Jidong Zhai (Professor, Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University)

n  AGI: Transforming Industries Across the Board

Xinhua Ji (Founder and CEO, UCloud)

n  Technological Innovation and Business Application of Tongyi Foundation Model

Fei Huang (Vice-President of Alibaba Cloud; Head of Tongyi NLP Lab, Alibaba)

n  The Impact of AI on Firm Costs and Boundaries

Geoffrey Parker (Professor of Engineering Innovation, Dartmouth College)

n  How Businesses Can Identify the Key Enablers for Effective AI Implementation

Fan Lin (Founder and CEO at Maimai.cn)

n  The Nature of the Future: In What Sense AI Cannot Replace Human Intelligence

Weiying Zhang (Boya Chair Professor, Professor of Economics at National School of Development, Peking University; Director of PKU Market and Network Economy Research Center)

n  The Economics of AI Business

Long Chen (President, Luohan Academy)

Panel discussion (50m): Long Chen, Jidong Zhai, Xinhua Ji, Fei Huang, Geoffrey Parker, Weiying Zhang, Fan Lin

Forum V: Coexistence of Machine Intelligence and Human Intelligence: Present and Future

09:00-12:00  Moderator: Qiao Liu, Peking University

Guiding Questions

²  In what aspects, to what extent, and at what pace has machine intelligence caught up with or even surpassed human intelligence?

²  How profound will its impact be on the world?

²  Is it evolving solely to meet human needs, or could it become an autonomous entity with its own consciousness?

²  In a world where humans and machine intelligence coexist, where are we headed?

Speaker lineup (20 minutes per presentation)

n  Humanity in the Era of AI Agent: The Peril of Removing “Transaction Cost”

Yuxin Chen (Dean of Business and Distinguished Global Professor of Business, NYU Shanghai)

n  AI Guardrails & Guidelines

Marshall Van Alstyne (Professor in Information System, Boston University)

n  The World After Acceleration

Yongchao Duan (Co-founder and Managing Partner of CoolReeds, Executive President of Information Society 50 Forum)

n  How To Align AI Development with the Principle of Employment First

Fang Cai (Academician, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Chief Expert, China’s National Think Tank)

n  Where is Technology Taking the Economy?

Brian Arthur (Professor, Santa Fe Institute)

Panel discussion (1h): Qiao Liu, Brian Arthur, Yuxin Chen, Marshall Van Alstyne, Fang Cai, Yongchao Duan

Forum VI: The New Landscape of Globalization

14:00-17:00        Moderator: Shangjin Wei, Columbia University

Guiding Questions

²  As we enter a new era of globalization—shaped by multipolar growth, the resurgence of Trump 2.0, and AI-driven technological revolution—what are its defining characteristics, trends, and implications?

²  How will these shifts affect global supply chains?

²  How should we interpret the evolving dynamics of global trade and the changing political order?

²  In this new paradigm, how can businesses adapt and redefine their globalization strategies?

Speaker lineup (15 minutes per presentation)

n  The Evolving Logic, Patterns and Emerging Trends of Globalization’s Flows of Goods and Services, Capital, Technology and People

Michael Spence (Professor and Dean, emeritus, Stanford GSB; 2001 Nobel Laureate in Economics)

n  The World at the Crossroads: Extended Conflict or Golden Age

Carlota Perez (Professor of Technology & Development, IIPP-UCL; online)