Tesla Inc CEO, Elon Musk, and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd Executive Chairman, Jack Ma, took the stage at a conference in Shanghai on Thursday (August 29) in their first-ever joint appearance, discussing topics ranging from Mars to education to work hours.

Ma described himself as “optimistic” about the impact of artificial intelligence on humanity, adding that people who worry too much about it have what he calls “college smartness.”

When the joint appearance was announced, speculation was rife that they could use the podium to talk about issues such as the ongoing US-China trade tensions, a factory Tesla is building in Shanghai, or Ma’s impending retirement from Alibaba. But the two moguls avoided all mention of those issues, instead discussing their vision of how technology and artificial intelligence will shape the future.

They also went on to discuss space travel, with Ma complimenting Musk on his attempts to journey into Mars via SpaceX while Musk noted China’s advancements in that area, as well as how “inadequate” humans are against computers.

The 2019 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) is held at Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Centre during from August 29 to 31.

source https://news.yahoo.com/teslas-musk-alibabas-ma-talk-093746714.html?.tsrc=rss