However, it is not easy to achieve this goal. It requires a lot of investment in terms of manpower, capital, and technology. The technology is better, but with him, it is not a problem. The main thing is the first two.
"Listening to your description, it is indeed very good and the idea is also very good. If it can be realized, it will indeed be an important weapon of the country, especially in peacetime, injecting new impetus into our country's national defense strength.
However, although I don’t understand technology, I also know that there are too many things involved and the degree of difficulty must be very high, so I want to ask, can it be realized with the current technology? Liu Junqing asked.
When Zhao heard Liu Junqing's words, he smiled and said: "It must be very difficult to achieve this goal. Here I will analyze the difficulties here.
The first is the consumption of manpower. You should also know that if you want to realize this earth simulator, you must collect enough data, and even some data need to be completed through experiments.
Although the current global technological development is changing with each passing day, many things are still unclear, or are not involved at all, and these things require the use of relevant data in this project.
Therefore, we need a large number of physicists, chemists, biologists, zoologists and botanists and other scientific and technological talents to provide intellectual support. As long as we obtain enough data, this simulated world will be more realistic.
Of course, in the early stage, we can focus on collecting urgently needed data according to national defense needs, but the workload is not small, and we also need to collect armaments data of various countries, which is also very difficult.
However, we can use scientific and technological means to realize some data. For example, to establish a basic model of the earth, we can use high-precision remote sensing satellites to cooperate with the Beidou navigation satellite.
If the two work closely together, they can model all the city buildings, mountains, rivers and other map data on the earth, and finally generate an earth model.
However, this is only the most basic model. If you want to be more realistic, you still need to work hard to collect data and build this model to be more realistic.
Brother, you can imagine how much manpower and material resources will be needed to do this, but if it is really done, these difficulties can be overcome.
And we don’t really want to build a 100% real world. The degree of realism can be gradually improved. This is a continuous work and cannot be achieved overnight.
The second is capital. Not to mention that the large amount of manpower invested previously requires huge capital support. It is very difficult to run this earth simulator, which consumes a huge amount of computing power.
So we may need a huge number of supercomputer clusters to complete this calculation work, and a supercomputer costs hundreds of millions of yuan, which is still not a very good supercomputer.
If we want to run the earth simulator, we must improve our supercomputing technology and build a supercomputer with stronger computing power, so the price of such a supercomputer is also more expensive.
According to my estimate, to run the earth simulator, hundreds of dedicated supercomputers are needed, and the hardware investment alone will cost about 50 billion yuan.
In addition to hardware investment, if you want to achieve full-dynamic interpretation of the earth simulator, you must use artificial intelligence. Although the development of artificial intelligence technology in our country is not bad, there is still a long way to go to achieve this effect. .
Therefore, we still need to invest a lot of manpower and material resources to make another breakthrough in artificial intelligence technology. Otherwise, those opponents will behave like puppets on strings.
Exercise training in such an earth simulator cannot achieve the desired results, especially the simulation of global wars and the simulation of the earth's environment, which relies heavily on artificial intelligence.
However, these are minor problems in the early stage. We can use our own people to act as war opponents, and we do not need to immediately deploy artificial intelligence to complete these tasks.
As for the simulation of the earth's environment, we can use other algorithms to support it, and we do not have to use artificial intelligence technology to replace it from the beginning. Therefore, we can also use technical means to avoid it in the early stage.
However, if you want to achieve a very realistic earth simulator, artificial intelligence must be involved in the later stage. Only then can massive data be processed in real time and massive data can be maintained.
I think as time goes by, the complexity of this earth simulator will become higher and higher, and the data involved must be massive. Relying on manpower to maintain it will not only be costly, but also cause serious problems, and the maintainability is very poor. .
That’s why I said that artificial intelligence programs must be launched in the later stage, so that artificial intelligence can replace humans to maintain the operation of the entire earth simulator. The cost will definitely drop a lot. At the same time, we can also better control the earth simulator through artificial intelligence. manage.
Of course, to realize an earth simulator, artificial intelligence alone is not enough. It also requires the participation of a large number of programmers, mathematicians, physicists and other top experts in various disciplines.
The algorithms involved are countless. These are both time-consuming and labor-intensive work, and the money spent is also very huge.
It can be seen from the above aspects that apart from the hardware cost, the cost spent on technology is also expected to cost about 50 billion yuan. In other words, without an investment of 100 billion yuan, this matter cannot be promoted. .
The third is technology. As mentioned just now, building an earth simulator requires both the research and development of artificial intelligence technology and the design of massive algorithms to support it.
These are just some of the tasks where intellectual activity is greater than physical activity. A large number of programmers will be needed to write the relevant code. It can be said that it is currently the project that requires the largest number of programmers to participate in the world.
Of course, if it is just a simple manpower requirement, we are not embarrassed, but writing a program is the same as leading an army to fight.
Tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people need to be dispatched to complete their own work according to different needs and goals, and then the goals they have completed are integrated to form a real earth simulator.
Therefore, this project also needs a person with comprehensive technology, strong leadership ability, strong scheduling ability and strong software engineering construction ability to serve as the chief designer.
I observe that there is currently no such person in our country who can take on this important task, because the complexity is too high, and all the software projects in the world combined are incomparable to it. "
After saying so much, Zhao Yi stopped, took a few bites of the food, and was about to pick up the wine glass to drink some wine to soothe his throat, but found that he didn't order wine, but poured a cup of tea.
Only then did he remember that because he was not used to drinking and was afraid that Liu Junqing would persuade him to drink, he didn't order wine at all. However, drinking tea was the same, and it didn't make much difference to him.
After taking two sips of tea, Zhao Yi did not wait for Liu Junqing to answer, and continued: "Of course the difficulties are only temporary. As long as all the conditions are met, this project is not an insurmountable gap.
Once this project breaks through, the benefits it will bring will be very great. The first and most direct benefit is that it can take our country's national defense industry to a higher level.
The second is to conduct a more comprehensive simulation of the earth's environment, which can predict the occurrence of some problems in advance, which can play an important role in disaster prevention.
Thirdly, it can play an important reference role in the simulation of international geopolitical relations and social and economic development, and can be used as an important basis for some political decisions.
Finally, it plays an important role in promoting domestic scientific development. Although this is just an earth simulator, it is a highly comprehensive science and technology project.
In the process of research and development of this project, it requires the cooperation of other disciplines and specialized research on some issues, so that real data can be obtained and the development of science and technology can be promoted. "
Having said this, Zhao Yi stopped talking and left the rest of the time for Liu Junqing to think. He concentrated on eating. Not to mention, the food in this club tasted good, not inferior to his craftsmanship.
After Liu Junqing heard Zhao Yi's analysis, he also fell into long thinking. Zhao Yi had already clearly understood all the difficulties and benefits.
Everything else is fine, except that the capital consumption is too great. The basic cost has reached 100 billion yuan, and the entire domestic defense budget is less than 100 billion yuan, so it is impossible to come up with so much money.
Therefore, the difficulty in funding has completely blocked this idea. Other difficulties have not been considered, and even if the cost is not so large, the military may not be willing to spend so much money on this project.
Again, the foundation of our country's military is still relatively weak. If you really have money, you would rather buy more fighter planes, tanks, and naval warships. This is what can really increase your national defense strength.
As for the earth simulator, it sounds very sci-fi, and it seems to be able to play a big role, but after all, it is just a auxiliary project, and real wars still have to rely on the power of fists.
Therefore, the support for such non-critical projects is definitely limited, and may not even be discussed at the meeting. After all, everything has a priority, and limited funds must be used wisely.
Zhao Yi also knew that it was currently impossible to rely on military funds to carry out this project, so he had only talked about this project based on his professional knowledge before, and did not hold out much hope for it.
However, after his own analysis, he became a little tempted. Although it may be relatively simple at the beginning, if he continues to invest, he may gain unexpected gains.
And the high cost he mentioned just now is only for the outside world. For him, the cost is not that high. He can handle many things by himself and does not need much support from the outside world.
It is estimated that the biggest cost is the investment in supercomputer hardware. This money is probably difficult to save. But then again, if you do everything else by yourself, it will not have a particularly big role in promoting the development of domestic science. .
At present, the country is implementing a scientific development plan, which promotes the development of basic science and science and technology in the form of projects, ultimately making up for my country's weak links in basic theoretical science and technology, and at the same time cultivating my country's scientific research talent team.
If from this perspective, he is not able to do everything by himself, he needs to subcontract the entire project to allow more talents to participate, and finally solve the long-standing problems by himself.
As for writing programs, Zhao Yi does not have any difficulty. These tasks can be completed by junior artificial intelligence. This part of the work should be the easiest.
Moreover, the number of programmers in the country is already stretched thin. It is impossible to pull everyone over to work on this project, otherwise other software projects will not be able to develop.
"After your analysis, I feel that this matter is probably out of the question. I don't know what the future situation will be. At least for now, we don't have the ability to start this project." Liu Junqing also came to his senses and said to Zhao Yi.
While Liu Junqing was eating, Zhao Yi also knew where the difficulties he mentioned were. In the final analysis, they were caused by lack of money, and Zhao Yi did not want most of the national defense budget to be invested in this bottomless pit.
If this is really done, who will sell the various military equipment developed and produced by China Military Industrial Company? This will seriously affect the normal operation of this company.
"Whether the difficulty mentioned by my brother is a financial issue, in fact, this issue may be difficult or simple, depending on how you view this matter." Zhao Yi said.
Hearing what Zhao Yi said, Liu Junqing suddenly showed interest and asked: "Tell me, how to solve this problem?"
"Brother, you should know the cooperation method of Beidou Satellite Navigation System. The overall investment can be made by us. After we have basically usable products, you can use them through long-term leasing.
Although the long-term cost may be relatively high, the short-term cost of use is greatly reduced, and there is no need to bear any risks. This kind of transaction is quite cost-effective. " Zhao Yi said.
At the beginning, the Beidou Satellite Navigation System's cooperation plan included a leasing plan. However, because the overall investment in the Beidou Satellite Navigation System was not large, they did not need to pay the full cost, so they did not use this plan.
However, the investment in the earth simulator project is very huge. 100 billion yuan is only the first phase of funds. In the future, continuous investment will be needed to improve the realism of the earth simulator. This is a long-term project.
As for how much money will eventually be consumed, even Zhao Yi doesn't have an accurate assessment, because it is a bottomless pit, and every time the degree of realism is improved in the future, a huge amount of money will be invested to support it.
But Zhao Yi still hopes to get this project started, because its short-term benefits may not be great, but the long-term benefits make him very concerned.
The first is related to virtual reality. Although the Internet has just begun to develop and can meet the needs of economic development for a long time, this path will not end in more than a hundred years.
At that time, the second generation of the Internet will be needed, and Zhao Yiyi’s definition of the second generation of the Internet is virtual space, which is a fully immersive cyberspace, which can be called the second space of mankind.
Many technologies and basic data of the Earth simulator can form a very beneficial support for the second space. It only needs to solve the problem of human consciousness access, quantum communication and quantum computing.
He has also asked his affiliated companies to conduct relevant research on these basic technologies. Although there will be no obvious breakthroughs in the short term, they will definitely be successful in the future.
The second is related to planetary transformation. The Earth simulator project is a process of in-depth research on our planet, and planetary transformation also requires a fuller understanding of the planet. The two have many similarities.
If human beings want to have a future, they cannot stay on the earth forever. Then interstellar migration will definitely happen. So whether it is to completely transform the planet or to slightly transform the planet with a suitable environment, detailed data support is needed.
The interests involved in these two aspects are very huge, and they are also inevitable needs for the subsequent economic and social development of mankind. As a businessman, he has to pay attention to the interests in this.
"Do you plan to invest your own funds in the research and development of this project?" Liu Junqing asked.
"I have this plan. Although this topic started because of you, after analysis and the benefits it will bring in the future, I think this project is still worth doing.
However, it is impossible to meet your requirements in the short term, but I predict that you will be able to use the first version of the Earth Simulator in about 10 years at the latest. " Zhao Yi said.
When Liu Junqing heard what Zhao Yi said, he was quite shocked. No matter which country invested in this project, it was very difficult, let alone private capital. He felt that Zhao Yi was a complete lunatic.
This is such a waste of money to invest in a project that is difficult to make a profit in the short term and whose long-term future is unknown. If you invest this money in other places, you don't know how much money you will earn back.
“You have to think carefully. If you really invest in this project, your financial situation will not be very good. Moreover, you have now begun to invest in urbanization on a large scale, and your capital needs are huge.
Investing limited funds in this project will increase your personal burden. It is nothing if you go bankrupt alone, but it will seriously affect the domestic economic development. Liu Junqing said.
Although what Liu Junqing said is a bit ruthless, it is indeed as he said. If investing in this project delays the development of other industries, it will indeed be very detrimental to the country's economic development.
In fact, Liu Junqing was not too worried about the initial investment of 100 billion yuan. No matter how tight Zhao Yi was for funds, he could still squeeze out this little money.
The main reason is that the subsequent investment situation is still unknown. At the same time, the international economic environment cannot always be as calm as it is now. If there are twists and turns that greatly reduce his income, then the risk will suddenly come.
"I know the risks involved. Although I have done things more radically before, I am aware of those things.
I will be cautious about the investment in this project this time and will not be so radical. The annual investment may be only tens of billions of yuan, which will not be a great pressure for me. " Zhao Yi said. (End of this chapter)