The integration of virtual and real, the next stop of the internet
The traditional concept of the internet model is undergoing a new round of transformation and upgrade. Whether from a technological standpoint or a business model perspective, this is universally true. Technologically, AI is gradually maturing and being implemented, replacing 'Internet +' with 'AI+'. From a business model perspective, centralized business models are gradually being replaced by decentralized ones, with more online players actively embracing offline and physical entities to find new paths. If we were to summarize and define this transformation happening now, the combination of virtual and real, and the integration of digital and physical, is undoubtedly the most fitting description.
In the past, as the dividends of the internet era gradually faded, people experienced a period of confusion. This was true both in terms of technological exploration and business model evolution. However, when AI became a certain presence, especially as it began to create more connections between online and offline, the previous confusion was swept away, replaced by a new development model and direction with strong certainty.
If we were to summarize and define the development model presented by AI, the new trend of combining virtual and real is undoubtedly the one that cannot be ignored. As the combination of virtual and real becomes a new consensus, especially as more players focus their development on this, we have reason to believe that the combination of virtual and real is no longer the patent of a few explorers but has become an important aspect that almost every player needs to pay attention to. As this phenomenon occurs more frequently, it is bound to become the next stop for the internet.
AI has become the connector for the combination of virtual and real
Looking back at past explorations and practices, one important reason people did not find ways and methods for combining virtual and real was the shortcomings of internet technology itself, which ultimately led players to only improve efficiency in a binary way, without achieving efficiency improvement through the combination of virtual and real. When people still regarded internet technology as the connector for achieving virtual and real integration, true virtual and real combination was not realized.
As AI gradually matures, especially as it is implemented in more scenarios and industries, the pursuit of virtual and real integration is no longer an unattainable dream but has become a natural existence. Looking at the current implementation and application of AI in education, healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing, we can see that the so-called virtual and real integration is not the empowerment and transformation of physical economies by virtual economies as previously thought, but a natural existence, a deep integration of virtual and physical economies.
The most critical point that truly creates all this is the gradual maturity and implementation of AI. In a sense, AI has become the connector for the combination of virtual and real, rather than a tool for virtual economies to empower and transform physical economies. In the context of AI technology, both virtual and physical economies have their own distinct functions and roles. From the perspective of the internet, AI has facilitated virtual and real integration, and for the internet, virtual and real integration is its next stop. All of this has a deeper reason, which is that internet technology has evolved into AI technology.
New industries have become derivatives of the combination of virtual and real
In the past, the evolution of the internet did not break out of the traditional cycle, mainly because it did not generate new industries or derive new things. This phenomenon ultimately led to the most direct result, which is that the supply side did not undergo fundamental changes and remained traditional industries. When the upstream of industries still uses traditional industries to supply downstream users, the contradiction between supply and demand has not fundamentally changed.
When the combination of virtual and real, and the integration of digital and physical become mainstream, especially when new industries begin to derive and emerge, the supply side undergoes a profound and comprehensive transformation. At this time, the production factors, processes, and efficiency of the supply side are almost completely upgraded. When such an upgrade occurs, the way the supply side connects with the demand side and the products provided to the demand side undergo a comprehensive and thorough change.
This is a comprehensive and thorough deep transformation. Compared to the past when no new industries emerged, the industry transformation triggered by virtual and real integration truly brings comprehensive and thorough upgrades. When such an upgrade occurs, the achievement of supply and demand will no longer be a presence that needs to be matched but is built on new demands and new supplies. For the internet, when new products derived from the combination of virtual and real, and new things transformed from digital and physical integration, this transformation is truly a transformation that can achieve new development, and this transformation can truly be called a new existence with essential transformation.
Decentralization has become an inevitable result of the combination of virtual and real
When the internet begins to evolve, especially when the industrial internet becomes popular, the key standard for measuring whether its evolution has achieved transformation is whether it has achieved decentralization and de-platformization. In a sense, only by achieving decentralization can true virtual and real combination be achieved, and only by achieving true virtual and real combination can decentralization naturally occur.
When industry development enters a new stage, especially when the combination of virtual and real, and the integration of digital and physical gradually become a trend, the most critical aspect we see is that more players begin to actively tear down walls and break the original ecosystem. At this time, traditional platforms and centers are broken, replaced by new centers. These new platforms and centers are no longer traditional existences with only virtual and physical economies but have become existences with characteristics of both virtual and physical economies.
When such new economic entities combining virtual and real, and integrating digital and physical begin to appear, traditional platforms and centers no longer have a reason to exist. It is in this context that we see decentralization becoming an inevitable result of the combination of virtual and real. When decentralization becomes inevitable, it reflects the evolution of the internet from another perspective. It can be said that it is precisely because the internet is moving to the next stop that decentralization occurs. The most critical aspect that truly creates the internet's move to the next stop is the occurrence and emergence of the combination of virtual and real.
In conclusion
As AI matures, the combination of virtual and real, and the integration of digital and physical that we have been pursuing is no longer an unattainable dream but has become a natural existence. As the combination of virtual and real, and the integration of digital and physical occur more frequently, the true evolution of the internet begins to complete and appear. When the evolution of the internet begins to complete, the era of the industrial internet truly arrives. In the era of the industrial internet, new industries, new models, and new technologies will ultimately become the main battleground for players.
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