In factories, robots are taking on the role of "production managers," autonomously accepting orders and manufacturing on demand. In cities, AI is acting as the "traffic commander," analyzing vehicle flows in real time and optimizing signal timing to keep traffic moving smoothly. On farms, large models are serving as "crop doctors," monitoring soil moisture levels and enabling precise drip irrigation and fertilization, turning farming from a practice based on experience and weather into a data-driven precision task. These scenarios are just a glimpse of the new intelligent economy. This year, "building a new intelligent economic form" was written into the Government Work Report for the first time. From clarifying the concept to real-world applications, from public benefits to potential risks, what exactly is the intelligent economy, and how will it reshape production methods and transform daily life? To explore these questions, we spoke with several experts in artificial intelligence and the digital economy for an in-depth analysis of this emerging economic model.

How should we understand this new economic concept that sounds so high-tech? According to Wang Xuetao, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Digital Economy at the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, the new intelligent economic form can be viewed as the latest economic model following agricultural, industrial, information, and digital economies. It is driven by artificial intelligence as its core engine, with data, algorithms, and computing power as key production factors, and its growth logic has shifted toward intelligence-driven development. Compared with the digital economy or internet economy that people often discuss, the intelligent economy focuses on "empowerment" and "restructuring," achieving automation of cognition, enabling application systems to optimize themselves autonomously, and turning machines from simple tools into intelligent collaborators capable of managing complex systems. The digital economy and the intelligent economy are closely linked, but they also have distinct differences.

"If we compare the digital economy to a 'highway' that solves the problem of efficient data transmission and storage, then the intelligent economy is like a 'self-driving car' on that highway—not only is the road there, but the car can see, judge, and make decisions on its own," said Liu Gang, chief economist at the China New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Strategy Research Institute and director of the Institute of Economic Research at Nankai University. He believes the intelligent economy has three prominent traits: innovation driven by technology, efficiency in factor allocation, and penetration through integrated development. Its biggest innovation lies in the fact that machines have evolved from tools into "autonomous decision-making entities." The digital economy relies on the internet, big data, and cloud computing, focusing on data collection, transmission, and storage. Its essence is data-driven process optimization, which is a passive informatization transformation. The intelligent economy, on the other hand, relies on AI technology, focusing on autonomous learning, reasoning, and proactive decision-making, forming a closed loop of machine "perception-understanding-generation-execution." This enables intelligent empowerment for value creation, representing a proactive transformation that drives human-machine collaboration, integrated software and hardware, and cross-sector convergence, giving rise to AI-native models such as intelligent agents and "one-person companies."

Gao Yingmao, deputy director of the Institute of Informatization and Software Industry at the China Center for Information Industry Development, stated that the new intelligent economic form makes economic and social operations more efficient and decision-making more precise, allowing people to enjoy new services and experiences. "The internet paved an information highway for the economy, digitalization equipped the economy with navigation, and intelligence has given the economy a decision-making brain. The intelligent economy brings self-evolving intelligent machines into the picture—humans set the rules and direction, while intelligent machines make autonomous decisions and execute them."

What types does the new intelligent economic form mainly include, and can ordinary people truly sense its arrival? Yang Jiachen, chair professor at the School of Electrical and Information Engineering at Tianjin University, believes the new intelligent economic form can broadly be divided into two categories: one is new industries spawned by large models, intelligent agents, and autonomous driving; the other is "AI+," where AI enters traditional industries such as manufacturing, logistics, consumer services, and healthcare, transforming existing production and service methods. "People are already beginning to feel the changes directly," Liu Gang cited as an example. In the production sector, more than 10,000 intelligent factories across the country now cover over 80% of manufacturing categories, with robots operating autonomously 24/7 in "lights-out factories." In daily life, AI-assisted diagnostic systems have been deployed in many hospitals, allowing grassroots residents to access imaging screening services comparable to top-tier hospital levels. There are now over a hundred AI terminal products, including AI phones, AI computers, and smart glasses, and smart elderly care is benefiting more and more seniors. In governance, intelligent assistance systems in government service halls now cover high-frequency matters such as social security and household registration, automatically filling forms and pre-reviewing materials, truly enabling citizens to make fewer trips.

Where are the opportunities and challenges of the new intelligent economic form reflected? Multiple experts say the new intelligent economic form brings tangible convenience to the public, but it also presents real challenges that cannot be ignored. Gao Yingmao believes the intelligent economy is a mixed blessing: machines can take over basic, repetitive, and dangerous tasks, and everyone may one day have their own intelligent agent assistant, freeing up human energy and driving humanity toward advanced decision-making and deep creation. However, over-reliance on intelligent agents could also leave people manipulated by algorithms, weakening independent thinking and creative abilities. "Our food, clothing, housing, and transportation will become increasingly intelligent," Yang Jiachen cited as an example. AI virtual fitting lets you upload a photo to see how different clothes look on you; beyond smart recipe recommendations that are already in use, AI can design nutritional meal plans based on what's in your fridge, family tastes, and health conditions. Smart home systems can sense temperature, air quality, lighting, and daily habits, automatically coordinating appliances like air conditioners and TVs. Autonomous driving is gradually becoming a reality. In the future, people may simply tell AI "I need to get to the airport by 8:30 tomorrow morning," and it will arrange the vehicle, plan the route, and set the departure time based on real-time traffic conditions. Liu Gang noted that the benefits of the new intelligent economic form are genuinely tangible, but the challenges must also be faced head-on. The most prominent issue is the digital divide—groups such as the elderly need time to adapt to new technologies and must not be left behind. At the same time, data privacy and security must be given high priority. As technology races ahead, institutions must keep pace. Yao Jianming, director of the China Enterprise Innovation and Development Research Center at Renmin University and dean of the Digital Economy Industry Innovation Research Institute, believes the new intelligent economic form can create new job opportunities, but it will also weaken demand for some traditional jobs.

Many people are worried that AI agents and other new intelligent economic forms will take away jobs—is this concern justified? "This concern is understandable, but what AI agents bring is not 'taking away jobs' but 'switching jobs,'" Liu Gang argued. Low-skill, repetitive positions will face the greatest impact, but new roles are emerging—such as data scientists, algorithm trainers, and digital marketing specialists. China faces a significant AI talent shortage, with a pronounced structural imbalance. For individuals, the key is to adapt proactively: improve digital literacy and skills in using intelligent tools, cultivate innovation and human-machine collaboration abilities, and make lifelong learning a habit. In fact, the development of any economic form eliminates some jobs while creating many new ones, and the intelligent economy is no exception. The World Economic Forum's "Future of Jobs Report 2025" predicts that by 2030, AI will create 170 million new jobs while replacing 92 million, for a net increase of 78 million. Wang Xuetao noted that historical patterns show every industrial revolution replaces old jobs and creates new ones, with total employment consistently growing over the long term—the core issue is structural job mismatch. From a technical perspective, AI's current core capability lies in handling standardized, repetitive tasks, while jobs requiring emotional interaction, complex decision-making, creativity, and cross-domain comprehensive judgment are difficult to fully replace. "Many professions will not disappear overnight, but repetitive, standardized work will increasingly be handed over to AI," Yang Jiachen stated bluntly. In the future, the real competition may not be "humans versus AI," but rather between people who use AI and those who don't. The sooner people learn to turn AI into their assistant, the more likely they are to gain new development opportunities in this wave of change. Gao Yingmao suggested that to become someone who is not easily replaced by AI, three principles should be followed: first, upgrade skills and strive for excellence in professional roles—routine contract reviews may be automated, but major, complex case trials still require human leadership; second, maintain human warmth—cold machine voices and cookie-cutter digital human faces cannot truly replicate human empathy; third, learn to coexist—study AI and harness it rather than treating it as an adversary.

From this perspective, building irreplaceable core capabilities is key to adapting to the intelligent age. On one hand, people should proactively shift toward abilities and fields that AI finds difficult to cover, such as interpersonal communication and empathy, creativity and aesthetic judgment, comprehensive decision-making for complex problems, and cross-disciplinary integration—these are core values that current intelligent technology struggles to replicate. On the other hand, strengthening "human-machine collaboration" digital literacy means treating intelligent technology as a career-enhancing tool, actively learning various AI application skills, and using AI to boost work efficiency. At the same time, cultivating a lifelong learning mindset, keeping pace with the iteration of intelligent technology, continuously updating knowledge systems and broadening cognitive boundaries, paying attention to new tracks spawned by the intelligent economy, and seizing opportunities to transition to high-value-added segments are all essential.

What is the current state of the new intelligent economic form in Tianjin, and what are its advantages and shortcomings? Tianjin is moving quickly to develop the new intelligent economic form. In the first half of this year, the number of various AI large models and intelligent agents in the city surpassed 200, doubling from the end of last year. Revenue from core foundational enterprises exceeded 36 billion yuan, up more than 20% year-over-year. According to Liu Gang's observations, Tianjin has unique advantages in developing the intelligent economy: in supercomputing, the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin is building a diversified computing system integrating "quantum computing, supercomputing, intelligent computing, and space computing power." The IT innovation industry chain is complete, with leading companies such as Phytium, Kylin, and Dawning Information Industry clustering and developing here. Brain-computer interface technology is world-class, with indicators like EEG recognition accuracy leading globally. "The faster technology runs, the less governance can lag behind," Liu Gang said. Tianjin must at least pay attention to the following risks: reliance on foreign technology for key core technologies in areas like AI chips, data security and privacy protection, algorithmic fairness and ethics, pressure on social security from employment shocks, and a widening digital divide. Yang Jiachen noted that Tianjin's intelligent economy is currently in a stage where the foundation is solid, scenarios are abundant, and applications are accelerating, but the overall industrial ecosystem is still taking shape. On the advantage side, first, the information industry foundation is relatively solid—companies like Phytium, Hygon Information Technology, Kylin, and the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin have built up some accumulation in chips, operating systems, and computing power. Second, real-world industrial scenarios are very rich. Tianjin has industries such as automotive, equipment manufacturing, petrochemicals, biomedicine, and port logistics—precisely the sectors where AI needs to go deeper in the next phase. Tianjin has no shortage of industries where AI can truly land. However, the shortcomings are also obvious: Tianjin still lags in cultivating AI head enterprises with national influence, entrepreneurial activity, and the concentration of capital and high-end talent. Therefore, the key task for the next phase is to truly transform Tianjin's existing industrial and technological foundation into AI companies and products with market competitiveness.

In this context, how can Tianjin chart its own path based on local conditions? Liu Gang suggested a "differentiated route": leverage the full-chain advantages of the IT innovation industry to build an "AI + IT innovation" brand; rely on Tianjin Port's unique resources to develop smart ports and smart logistics; make good use of the World Intelligence Congress platform to gather global innovation resources; and continue to deepen work in specialty tracks such as brain-computer interfaces and robotics. At the same time, Tianjin should use its university resources to establish "AI+" interdisciplinary programs to fill the talent gap, and build an industrial ecosystem pattern of "large enterprises building the foundation, small enterprises driving applications," forming a virtuous cycle of coordinated development among large, medium, and small enterprises. "Currently, Tianjin's intelligent economy has basically completed its infrastructure foundation, achieved multiple breakthroughs in smart applications across advantageous industries, and continued to amplify its brand effect, but there is still room for improvement in core technology supply and industrial ecosystem vitality," Wang Xuetao said. In his view, Tianjin's development of the intelligent economy must be based on its own industrial foundation, geographical characteristics, and resource endowments, following a differentiated development path of "computing power foundation, scenario traction, industrial empowerment, and collaborative openness." Leveraging its position as an important node in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei computing hub, Tianjin should strengthen its computing infrastructure foundation. Focusing on advantageous tracks such as smart manufacturing and smart ports, the city should open up a batch of high-value application scenarios and encourage leading local enterprises to take the lead in implementation. It should proactively connect with Beijing's innovation resources, promote coordinated scheduling of computing resources across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, open sharing of scenario resources, mutual recognition of talent qualifications, and open channels for the cross-regional flow of technology, talent, and data elements. By relying on the SCO digital economy cooperation platform, Tianjin can promote the export of intelligent technology, products, and services, building a highland for an open intelligent economy.

What risks should be watched when developing the new intelligent economic form? During interviews, multiple experts noted that developing the new intelligent economic form requires using new technologies like AI for empowerment, which can easily create a "technology gap." For example, certain groups (such as the elderly) may face difficulties using intelligent technology and devices. AI technology is based on big data analysis, but extensive use of AI also brings risks of technological abuse and ethical issues. Gao Yingmao believes that the development of human society is built on the accumulation of experience—knowledge is created through experience and passed down through generations. However, models solidify human experience, this "tacit knowledge," into algorithms, firmly controlled by entities that possess technology, data, and platforms. Knowledge will gradually become concentrated in the hands of a few, and the threshold for creating new knowledge will rise significantly.

What does the future hold for the intelligent economy? In Yang Jiachen's view, there are three trends worth watching in the future. First, in the future we may not just have a single chat assistant, but rather work agents, life agents, health agents, and learning agents, all of which can collaborate with each other. A person could even work with an intelligent digital team. Second, AI will accelerate its integration into real-world scenarios, driving the widespread adoption of humanoid robots, autonomous vehicles, unmanned delivery vehicles, and smart factories. Third, AI will gradually become a foundational capability across all industries. In the future, it may be difficult to simply distinguish what is an AI company, because manufacturing, healthcare, education, finance, transportation, and retail will all make heavy use of AI. Just as the vast majority of companies use the internet today, the vast majority will use AI in the future. So in the long run, the intelligent economy may not just add a new industry, but rather drive the upgrade of many traditional industries, further transforming corporate production methods, people's work patterns, and society's service models. "The development trend of the intelligent economy is very clear, advancing along the direction of generalization, integration, inclusiveness, and trustworthiness, and eventually maturing through global competition and cooperation," Liu Gang stated. The national development direction is clear: by 2027, achieve broad and deep integration of AI with six key areas; by 2030, make the intelligent economy a major growth pole for China's economic development; and by 2035, fully enter a new stage of intelligent economy and intelligent society. This path has just begun, but the direction is already very clear.