Xueba's life simulator

Chapter 168 Unexpected Call (411 511)

"Professor Zhou, what do you think of the cooperation I mentioned to you earlier? Are you interested?" After the meeting, Liu Qingfeng pulled Zhou Ming aside and asked him.

After being held back by Liu Qingfeng and listening to Liu Qingfeng's inquiry, Zhou Ming thought about it and asked him: "I don't know what are the main research areas of your company now? What patents do you have now?"

Hearing Zhou Ming's question, Liu Qingfeng immediately showed a proud look on his face, and said to Zhou Ming: "Since our founding on December 1999, 12, the last day of the twentieth century, the fields we have studied are now Already more and more.

Our current main research fields are research on intelligent voice and language technology, development of software and chip products, voice information service and e-government system integration.

We Xunfei now have the Consonance voice assistant released in 13, and the Xunfei voice input method released in 10, which not only realizes human-machine voice interaction, but also makes communication between people and machines as simple as communication between people.It also has two important technologies of speech synthesis and speech recognition.

In addition, our speech technology also includes speech coding, timbre conversion, spoken language evaluation, speech noise cancellation and enhancement, etc.

In the later stage of development, we plan to start from education to medical care, from customer service to smart home, to mobile phones and in-vehicle environments and other fields. "

"En." Zhou Ming touched his chin with one hand, dragged the hand touching his chin with the other, and nodded.

"That is to say, your company's current and future development direction is voice platform industry, communication value-added industry, embedded industry, education industry, industry software and system integration industry?" Zhou Ming asked.

"Well, that's right." President Liu nodded.

Zhou Ming thought about it again, and finally asked: "You said that your main research field also includes chips, so how about your company's chip technology?"

"We are currently developing our own AI chips. As for the specific research and development status, I cannot disclose it yet." President Liu said.

"Then you develop your own AI chip technology, all of which are your own?" Zhou Ming asked again.

"This...not all. But today's society is a cooperative and win-win society, and we don't need to develop all the technologies. It's unrealistic to know all of them." President Liu was a little stunned by Zhou Ming's words, but he The response was quick.

After saying this, President Liu also realized Zhou Ming's ambition, and he tentatively asked, "Why, is it possible that Professor Zhou is still planning to take all the technology into his own hands?"

Zhou Ming shook his head and said: "That's not true, but at least the key technology must be in your own hands, right? Even if you don't have the technology, you must have the ability to manufacture it. If they don't get along in the future If you play, then you are not right?"

Hearing what Zhou Ming said, President Liu felt that Zhou Ming was thinking too much, and he said to Zhou Ming with some disbelief: "Professor Zhou, you...are you thinking too much? No one can do without the current situation of the international community." Who, the foreign capitalists are willing to give up such a large domestic market?"

"Hehe, President Liu, you are 43 this year, right? How can you be so naive?" Zhou Ming said after hearing President Liu's words.

The current chairman and president of Xunfei did not feel angry at what Zhou Ming said, but instead asked Zhou Ming very sincerely: "Why did Professor Zhou say such a thing?"

"Those businessmen are naturally unwilling to give up the domestic market, they wish to monopolize the domestic market. However, some things are not decided by themselves.

Let me ask you, what would you do if you had a technology that no one else had, and the higher authorities did not allow you to sell products involving this technology to a certain country? " Zhou Ming said.

"That must not be for sale..." At this point, President Liu finally realized Zhou Ming's meaning, but he still said to Zhou Ming with some doubts, "You mean the United States? Which country's conflicts have reached such a level?"

"In short, we can cooperate, but some core technologies that we don't have now need to invest money in research. If you really want to cooperate with us, then you have to bring out the related technologies you have.

Of course, we won't take your technology for nothing, we can exchange it, whether you want money or technology, it doesn't matter. "

This time Zhou Ming didn't answer President Liu's words, but talked about the cooperation again.

Because he had finished what he had to say, and President Liu understood what he meant, so there was no need to continue this topic.

"Hiss... this... how about it, let me go back and think about it." President Liu knew what the core technology that Zhou Ming mentioned was not available now, and he naturally meant "lithography", the most critical technology for making chips.

Lithography is the core of chip manufacturing and the most critical step in IC manufacturing. In the mainstream microelectronics manufacturing process, lithography is the most complex, expensive and critical process, and its cost accounts for about one-third of the cost of silicon wafer processing One, the implementation of almost every process is inseparable from it.

More importantly, this is a research that requires a lot of investment but will not pay off in the short term.

However, it is precisely because of knowing Zhou Ming's idea that President Liu admires Zhou Ming even more. No wonder he can achieve such an achievement at such an age, and no wonder the higher-ups value him so much.

But on the other hand, President Liu felt that Zhou Ming was too young, and he thought too many things too simply, thinking that no matter what it was, he could achieve it if he put his heart and soul into it, but he didn't show it.

"Okay, you go back and talk to those people in your company, and I just go back and talk to people in my company about this.

If you don't agree with each other internally, then we can only develop independently. "Zhou Ming finally said to President Liu.

After that, the two walked and chatted, and after leaving the building, they went back to their respective residences.

In fact, when it comes to chip technology, Zhou Ming doesn't know much about it. After all, although his current main research fields are mathematics, biology and artificial intelligence, his research on artificial intelligence has not yet involved chips.

In the life simulated by using the life simulator before, Zhou Ming has never provided too much detailed technical support for his company's chip research and development, so when he talked with President Liu about chip manufacturing this time, Zhou Ming couldn't take it too seriously. The words are too deadly, and it will definitely be developed within a few years.

After all, he is still not sure how many times he can use the life simulator. It is better not to talk about these uncertain things. Like what he said with the person who came to HKUST to inspect and visit before, it is all about the future. The life simulator disappeared, and he could be sure of things.

In the few days after returning to his residence, Zhou Ming spent most of his time reading books, except for attending classes, eating, and sleeping.

Zhou Ming has always wanted to complete this task as soon as possible, and to use the life simulator for the next simulation as soon as possible.

In fact, there are not many classes. There is one class per week for the School of Mathematical Sciences and one class per week for the School of Life Sciences. They are all elective courses.

The official start date of the experiment that Zhou Ming had agreed with Xia Xiao and the others before was May 33th. Zhou Ming just read books every day without sleep and food. When he saw May 50th, he raised the task progress to [-]/[-].

And it was on this night that Zhou Ming received a call.

"Why is it a call from abroad? Could it be that kind of call again?"

When he was studying at Jinling University of Technology, Zhou Ming often received various advertising calls, and sometimes there were calls from abroad like this.

Those advertising calls were either selling you a loan or asking you to buy a house. At that time, Zhou Ming complained that the callers didn't understand his situation first. Did he look like someone who could afford a house?Still in Jinling.

As for calls abroad, it goes without saying.

However, since Zhou Ming became a professor at HKUST last year, he has never received any advertising calls, nor has he received any overseas calls.

Therefore, Zhou Ming felt a little surprised when he saw that the caller ID on the phone screen showed that it was a foreign call.

"This time it's not from America and Canada. I'll pick it up." Zhou Ming thought to himself, and pressed the green connect button.

"Hello, are you Professor Zhou Ming from the School of Mathematical Sciences, Huaguo University of Science and Technology?"

After connecting, a female voice with a pleasant but unfamiliar voice came from the other end of the phone, and she still spoke English.

When he heard the other person speaking in English, Zhou Ming felt that this was not the kind of call from before. After all, the calls from overseas were all in Mandarin, and some calls were not very standard.

"I am." Zhou Ming simply replied, he wants to see who is calling him from abroad this time.

"Hello, Mr. Zhou, we are from the Royal Swedish Academy." After the nice female voice on the other end of the phone said this, Zhou Ming was silent for a moment.

"The Royal Swedish Academy? Could it be that which of my research won the Nobel Prize? Is it the superbean project or the artificial intelligence project? Or is it the artificially synthesized starch or artificially synthesized glucose that came out in the last one or two months?
Damn, this speed is too fast?When did the Nobel Prize become so fast?

She is not a liar, is she? "

As soon as he heard the female voice on the other end of the phone saying that she was from the Royal Swedish Academy, the first thing Zhou Ming thought of was the Nobel Prize.

Although there is no mathematics among the six awards established by the Nobel Prize, Zhou Ming has not only made outstanding achievements in mathematics.

When the Nobel Prize was first established, five awards were established according to Nobel's will in 1895, namely the Physics Prize, the Chemistry Prize, the Peace Prize, the Physiology or Medicine Prize, and the Literature Prize. A person who has "made the greatest contribution to humanity" in physics, chemistry, peace, physiology or medicine, and literature.

Later, in 1968, the Swedish Central Bank also established the Nobel Prize in Economics to honor those who have made outstanding contributions in the field of economics.

Zhou Ming's super beans and artificially synthesized starch can all be regarded as biological achievements, and they can win prizes in physiology or medicine.

In addition, his artificial intelligence project that can accurately predict protein structure can also be counted as a physiology or medicine award.

After all, there is no computer prize in the Nobel Prize, and his project is related to biology. If the Nobel Prize is awarded according to this project, naturally only the physics or medicine prize will be awarded.

If Zhou Ming knew a little about the Nobel Prize, then he would know that this call must not be a Nobel Prize call.

Because the Nobel Prize Committee will accept candidates recommended by various Nobel Prizes from September to January 9 of the following year.

And from February 2st, the Nobel Prize jury will screen and approve the recommended candidates.

Finally, the list of Nobel Prize winners will be announced in October, and the winners will be notified by phone a few minutes before the announcement.

It's only May now, and the Nobel Prize is still in the process of screening and evaluating the recommended candidates, and the final winner has not yet been determined. Where did the phone call come from?

Just when Zhou Ming was thinking wildly in his mind, the female voice on the other end of the phone pulled him back from his fantasy to reality.

It turned out that this call was not a Nobel Prize call, but a Craford Prize call.

The Crafford Prize is a world-wide scientific award that is almost as famous as the Nobel Prize. Like the Nobel Prize, it was also established by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, but it was established in 1980, nearly a century later than the Nobel Prize.

The fund for this prize comes from donations from Holger Crafford and his wife Anna Greta. Its establishment actually has a lot to do with the Nobel Prize, because it was established to compensate for the Nobel Prize. Defects.

Although the Nobel Prize is the most influential award in the world today, the fields of natural science it covers are extremely limited, not even mathematics that is very important to natural science, let alone earth science, astronomy, etc. Wait for these disciplines that have made a series of major breakthroughs.

It is precisely because of this that the Crawford Prize awarding disciplines include mathematics, earth sciences, astronomy and biological sciences. It is awarded once a year to reward outstanding achievements in one of the disciplines, with a prize of 50 US dollars.

As for the specific reason why Zhou Ming was notified of winning the Craford Award, it was mathematics, but the most important thing was not because he proved the twin prime number conjecture and Goldbach conjecture, but because he proved these conjectures. Those modified mathematical methods used.

A conjecture can only be proved once when it is proven, but mathematical methods can indeed be reused in solving different mathematical puzzles.

However, for such an award, Zhou Ming finally said to the other end of the phone: "I'm sorry, I've been busy recently and can't go to the scene to receive the award. Will the winnings be credited directly to my card?"

That’s what Zhou Ming is thick-skinned enough to say. He was worried that when he went out to receive the award, what happened in the life simulator when he used the life simulator, so he didn’t go abroad to receive the award, even though the round-trip fare and accommodation can be reimbursed there. Fees, food expenses.

As soon as Zhou Ming said these words, he immediately put the person on the other end of the phone in trouble.

If you are really a scholar who does not value fame and wealth and concentrates on scientific research, then you will be the same as Gregory Perelman who rejected the Fields Medal at the beginning, wouldn't it be enough to just refuse?
What's the matter with saying that you don't have time to receive the prize, so you just transfer the money to the card?

As for what Zhou Ming thinks in his heart, anyway, this money is your capitalism's money, capitalism's wool, if you don't squeeze it for nothing, you don't squeeze it.

However, it is naturally impossible for the person on the other end of the phone to know this idea.

Although she felt very speechless about Zhou Ming's actions in her heart, the lady still said to Zhou Ming very calmly and gently: "I'm sorry, Mr. Zhou, I need to explain the situation you said clearly to the higher-ups, and the specific how to do it also needs to be done by the higher-ups." Decide……"

(End of this chapter)