[Answer] What Do You Think of Robin Li Being Splashed with Water at Baidu’s AI Developer Conference on July 3, 2019?

[Answer] What Do You Think of Robin Li Being Splashed with Water at Baidu’s AI Developer Conference on July 3, 2019?

Robin Li’s personal performance was impressive; he remained calm in the face of chaos. His efforts to lead Baidu’s transformation toward AI are also commendable. Through his personal charisma and influence, he brought in industry heavyweights such as Andrew Ng and Qi Lu, which significantly strengthened Baidu’s image and substance in the AI field.

But you knew there had to be a “but.”

A business transformation depends not only on a leader’s vision and determination, but also on solving systemic problems in talent, organizational structure, and other areas. Since the departures of Andrew Ng, Qi Lu, and others, Baidu has in fact lost any real hope of reaching the heights once expected of it in AI. And the fact that the AI Developer Conference, after only its third edition, had already deteriorated into such a state—unable to tell a compelling story—is itself a reflection of that reality.

Therefore, no matter how outstanding Robin Li’s on-the-spot response was, the bottle of cold water thrown today was not poured only over his head. It was also poured over Baidu’s declining AI business, which is growing weaker by the day and drifting ever farther from hope.