Jack Ma says AI will 'go beyond everyone's imagination' in a rare public appearance

• Jack Ma, the cofounder of Alibaba Group, discussed AI's future in a rare public appearance.
• The speech marks his first public appearance since March 2023.
• Ma has largely disappeared from the public eye and has rarely been seen in the last four years.

Jack Ma, the cofounder of Alibaba Group, made a rare public appearance on Sunday to give a speech about how AI will bring changes over the next two decades that "go beyond everyone's imagination."

Speaking at an event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Alibaba's fintech affiliate, Ant Group, Ma said that AI's success is tied to creating "truly valuable and unique things."

Multiple Chinese media outlets reported Ma's comments, and snippets of the transcribed speech were shared on Chinese social media.

"Twenty years ago, the internet had just begun, and my generation was fortunate to seize the opportunities offered by the internet," Ma said, per The South China Morning Post. "From today's perspective, the changes brought by artificial intelligence in the next 20 years will go beyond everyone's imagination, as AI will bring a greater era."

"AI will change everything, but it doesn't mean AI can dictate everything," he said. "While technology is important, the real truth to determine success or failure is whether we can create truly valuable and unique things in the coming era."

Ma also congratulated the company on its achievements, adding he had faith in the "next 20 years of Ant."

Representatives for Ant Group did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Ma's speech is his first public appearance that has been reported on since March 2023, when he resurfaced at a school in Hangzhou.

Ma, who largely vanished from the public eye four years ago, was one of the most high-profile Chinese billionaires to disappear amid a crackdown on tech entrepreneurs.

Due to his highly successful companies, Ma was one of the richest men in China. However, in 2020, he clashed with Chinese regulators, which then began to crackdown on his empire, including Alibaba and Ant Group.

It resulted in an antitrust investigation, a suspended IPO, and Ma losing $12 billion of his fortune in just a few months. Ma disappeared from public view in 2020 amid the investigation.

A report from the Financial Times in November 2022 said Ma had been living in Tokyo for six months. In January 2023, he was sighted in Thailand after being spotted at a restaurant in Bangkok.