A service robot greets guests to the Light of the Internet Exposition of the 4th World Internet Conference underway in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province on Dec 3. [Photo by Xiang Wenjian/chinadaily.com.cn]
The ancient water town at the center of Wuzhen is its beating heart and soul. Its many waterways and tributaries are the deep emerald veins through which flows a culture that dates back to the Zhou Dynasty around 1,000 BC.
However, a perhaps more fitting and modern metaphor for this place would be that the ancient town isn't Wuzhen's heart, but rather its CPU, because I'm here for the 4th World Internet Conference (WIC).
This ancient water town has been given a high-tech booster shot, it has been supercharged and upgraded by such an influx of high-tech internet gadgetry for this global event that it makes the mind boggle, or overload if you will.
Guests are greeted by an armada of service robots – humanoid in shape mostly, though China Post has one which resembles a penguin. These robots can give you directions, carry out surveillance, and tell you how healthy you are. Or aren't. Oh, and they all have a signature dance routine.
An unattended supermarket invented by Tmall.com is built during the 4th World Internet Conference underway in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province on Dec 3. [Photo by Xiang Wenjian/chinadaily.com.cn]
Deeper within the WIC's showpiece expo, the full gamut of artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual reality as well as the infinitesimal reach of the internet, is exposed.
The sheer scale of technology on show leaves me thinking that the "Light" in the expo's title "The Light of the Internet", is a reference to Greek mythology and the story of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods so that we could light and warm ourselves in our caves. Except now we're in charge.
By far the best technological treat on show is from Tmall.com, who seem to have invented a supermarket with no people in it to annoy you and where you don't have to pay. Sadly, I'm informed that it is their "unattended supermarket" which, once you've scanned a QR code on entry, allows you to swipe what you like off the shelves and leave. When you pass through the exit your phone will be charged however.
If that is not enough to scramble your circuits, you should see what iFlytek has to offer. The Chinese tech company has developed a handheld device which looks like a modern twist on a Star Trek transponder that can interpret any known alien language in the galaxy. Okay, that last bit isn't true, but it is able to instantly (and I mean instantly) and accurately (I mean that too), translate your speech to Chinese, English, French, Korean, Japanese and Spanish. You'll never be caught short looking for a pharmacy in a foreign country ever again.
A self-driving electric car built and designed in Zhejiang province is on display at the Light of the Internet Exposition of the 4th World Internet Conference underway in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province on Dec 3. [Photo by Xiang Wenjian/chinadaily.com.cn]
After a day's exhaustive trip into the future of the world today, I can't help but think that this might all seem passé to someone in 20 years' time who has his own robot butler and smart phone implant in his eardrum.
Emblazoned above a sunburnt orange driverless car, which looks like it could be fitted with a flux capacitor, there is a slogan that reads "What's next?". Indeed, what is next? And if you can answer that question, then my guess is you could end up a rather wealthy humanoid, indeed.
