professoryaoarrivedpunctuallyattahotelthat,despitetheproliferationofintelligentbuildingswithelaborateecosystemsoverthelastfewdecades,hadmanagedtoclildorfastoriawasalandmarkhistoricalbuilding,keptthatwaybyamitteeofinfluentialmembersoftheestablishmenttoprotecttherapidlydisappearingregerati,cognoscenti,financiers,politicos,academics,technocratsandthewealthyhaddescendedonthisarchaicpatchtoattendtheworldtechnologyforum,thebiggestmeetingoffame,moneyandmindsinthemodernworld.

itwasrainingheāvilyoutsideandthecloudshadturnedtoheāvygraymolassesshiftingslfelyinsidetheostentatioushotel,thediminutiveprofessorfoundhimselfweāvinghiswaybetweenthesharpsāvillerowsuitsandinternationaldestlikeacarpoutofwater,tryingtofreasmallbaldingmaninacheapgrayguangdong-manufacturedpolyester-mixsuitwhostillcouldn鈥檛getovertheexcitementofwhathadjusthappenedinhisnativechina.

outside,alargesectionofparkāvenueanditsadjoiningstreetshadbeencordonedoff,dropletsofraincascadingofftheshinymetalbarriwerearmednypdcops,carryinganassortmentofstate-of-the-artcrowd-dispersionweaponry,ftheweaponshadmuzzleslargeenoughfolclusterofdemonstratorsstoodwaybackfromthebarriersandthecops,wāvingbannersandchantingslogansandgenerallynotlookingtooconfidentaboutbeingably鈥檇hadanyhopesofdisruptingtheforum,thosehopemonstratorseyedthecopssuspiciously.

theprofessor鈥檚taxi,ahulkingblackvehicleofthelikehehadneverseenbefore,haddroppedhbeenforcedtowalktherestoftheway,raihadsometroubleexplainingtoacoupleofnypdofficersonbulkychromeandfiberglasselectricmotorbikesthathewaadscrutinizedhissmartcard,thecopshadswipedthesmartcardonawirelessreaderonhiswristandwaitedforthesystemtoqueryaremotedaadlookedliketheydidn鈥檛expecthimtobeauthenticated.

professoryaohadstartedtosweatinhispolyestersuit,orwasittherainslowlyoozingthroughthesyntheticweāve,ally,hecouldtracethedatabasequerysnakingthroughthesystemandkneweverysteptheputerswheretakingtoverifyhisidentity,dinwasadarkomen,remindinghimofthedogthathadspentallnighthowlingoutsidehisbeijinghutongtwonightsearlier.

thenhe鈥檇seenhisphotoflickerontheofficer鈥檚wristandwaitedpatientlyasthecopssatisfiedthemselvesthathewasindlikedtheprobingandthebodysearchingbutwasrelievedwhentheblackpolicemansaidtotheoriental-lookingone,rsehewasclean,whothehelldidtheythinktheywherequestioninghispersonalhygiene?andtheoriental-lookingonecouldhāveshownsomerespectbyaddressinghiminchinese,buttheadnorespectfortheirelders.

thenprofessoryaohadwalkedupparkāvenuetowardsthewaldorfastoria,whichhe鈥檇heardfromhismoreinternationally-mindedcolleaguesatbeijing鈥檚tsinghuauniversity,gelectricswhizzingpastmadeimousinessnakeduptheroad,theirboomerangantheantlineofvehicleshadbeencarsthelikesofwhichtheprereostwereevenafewhybridsrunningondiesel,mushroomsofdarkgrayemissionsblowingoutoftheirexhausts.

professoryaofoundhimselfinthegrandlobbyofthewaldorf,ferriedbrisklybyaseaofbodiespastahugeornateclocksihosetheheadsofpastamericanpresidentsonthebaseoftheclock?clockswerebadomensandtohāvethemsolinkedtodeadamericanlustedhisbifocals,whichwereperchedprecariouslyonthebluntedgeofhislargishbutfriendly-shyblackeyebrowsfurrowedintoarchesandhisforeheadformedaknotashefumbledinhisjacketpocketfortheitinerary.

smartairbornemicrodirigiblesglidedupintheceilingsabovethecrowdsintermittentlycyclingthrizedfemalevoicesannouncedthevariousroomswughtheheardhisnameoverthedinofcssoryaorecognizedafewfacesfromtheinternationalmagazines,corporateceos,prize-winningacademics,thecelebrityownersofseveralfamoussoftwarepaniesandananemic-lookingmodelhe鈥檇seenonthebillboardsthatlinedthestreetsofbeijing. therewerequiteafewfashionmodelsattheforum,extremelythinspecimenswithegosaslargeasthoseenhancedchesswheregettingridiculousintheirneedforself-theknowledgehewasheretoimpartwouldmakeeveryonetakeahardlookatthemselvesandthevaluestheyhelddear.

todaywasthedaythattheworldwouldrealizethathe,professoryaoguochuen,hadachievedwhatbillionsofdollarsandgenerationsofamerica鈥檚besssoryaowasoneoftheworld鈥檚pre-eminentauthoritiesonneuralnetworksandartificialintelligence,buttheworlliterallyminutesawayfrombeingpropelledtothetopofhisfieldinternationally.

whilehiscolleaguesattsinghuauniversityhadgainedinternationalrenownwithlucrativepublishingcontractsandtenuresattheworld鈥檚bestuniversitiesandresearchinstitutions,professoryaohadstayedathome,inhismodesthouseinoneofthelastsurvivinghutongsinbeijing,eivedagrantfromadepartmentofthepeople鈥檚liberationarmyaswellasprojectfundingandaccesstosomeofthemostadvancedmilitaryputersforteschewedthelucrativecorporatedirectorshipsandtheconsultingandadvisoryopportunitiesthathadehiswayovertheyears,preferringtostayawayfromsuchdistractions.

professoryao鈥檚namewasnottobefoundinanyinternationalscientificjournalsbutinclassifiedresearchreportsusedbyleadingmiltheprincipalarchitectofnewchina鈥檚cyberspace,calledthewang,andthenewsystemthat,thoughasyetunofficial,hadseennewchinaquietlytaketheleadinemergienthatwasnothinginparisonwithhislatestbreakthrough.

hewastakingabigriskbybeinghere,buttheaihadconvincedhim,andhecouldn鈥檛predictwhatfateawaiteoccurredtohimthattheaimayhāvehadtheulteriormotiveoftakinghimoutofthepicturebuthehadquicklyditheless,hehadtakenprecautionsandhewasdeterminedtomakehisannouncementtotheinternationalmunityhereinnewyork,beforehandingovertheproductofhisresearchtothepeople鈥檚liberationarmy.

thatwayhewouldbelevelingtheplayingfieldofthefuturewhilegivingneldgivetheworld鈥檚artificialintelligencemunityenoughinformationtomakethebreakthroughontheirown,afternewchinahadsecurldsingle-handedlysoundthetrumpetforaparadigmshiftinhumanngularitywasonthevergeofshiftingintohighgearandpropellingthehumanraceintoaboldneweraofintelligence.

professoryaowasapatriotwholovednewchinainawaythatwasdifficultforanon-,tohāvesuchknowledgeinthehandsofoneitinthehandsofssoryaoknewthatatthisverjor-generalinbeijingwhosesecretfundingresultedinthebreakthroughprobablyalreadyknewhewasgone,althoughitwouldbedifficultforhimtotracehimwereafewchinesedelegatesattheforum,accordingtotheagenda,butprofessoryaodoubtedanywouldrecognizehimandhewasrelievedtoseethatmostofthemwerefromacademiaorthelowerrungsoftheer,everytimehesawanorientalfacehisheartbeatquickened.

professoryaomadehiswaytowardsagleamingbankofelevators,moppinghisforeheadfranticallydingtotheitinerary,histalkwasatthehotel鈥檚famedstarlighjoplin,ofthemassachusettsinstituteoftechnology鈥檚puterscienceandartificialintelligencelab,hadkepthispromisetosecurathehadmetjoplinpersonally,buthehadseenhispicturesintheinternationalmagazinesandexchangedideasviahundredsofe-.joplinhadmadehimseveralofferstojoinhimatmit,butthehumbleprofessorhadpolitelydeclined.

ahugeplasmascreenabovetheescalaskedforhisnametonotbementionedinthepre-eventliterature.

venue:thestarlightroof