Complex Functions

"The financial system has driven industrial implementation, but it has been slow to accelerate scientific research. In many cases, it has even had the opposite effect!" Song He said. "This situation is extremely strange. In theory, economic growth consists of two parts: technological breakthroughs and industrial implementation. Focusing only on the latter while neglecting the former is undoubtedly a huge deficiency!"

"It's time to create an entirely new financial tool specifically for promoting scientific research! This should have been done long ago, but no one ever did it. So today, we'll make up for this shortcoming!"

"Let me grandly introduce today's star of the Press Conference—the Interstellar Scientific Research Platform!"

The large screen changed, revealing the logo of the Interstellar Scientific Research Platform: three white satellite trails streaking across a purple planet, with the words "Interstellar Scientific Research" underneath.

Thunderous applause erupted. The media below frantically took pictures. This scene would undoubtedly become the front-page headline of every major media outlet, appearing as a news cover photo on the phones and computers of billions of people around the world!

"Everyone can open the Interstellar Bank APP on their phones, or log in to the official Interstellar Bank website on a computer. Look for it in the functions section. The download method for the Interstellar Scientific Research Platform is already there. After downloading, the interface will look like this!" Song He said.

The large screen displayed two images. The one on the left showed the mobile APP interface, while the one on the right showed the computer interface. The interfaces were different, but they had the same number of function buttons.

"Registering an account is very simple. Just click to agree to the information authorization, and a new account will be created automatically. It will be linked to your Interstellar Bank account. Since everyone's name is recorded in their bank account, the Scientific Research Platform account will also display their real name directly."

The mouse clicked on the two interfaces on the large screen. After the information authorization, a prompt appeared announcing that the account had been created successfully. The account name had become "Song He"!

"You can also upload a profile picture. This step is fairly lenient. Anything except illegal images can be uploaded. The profile picture I personally chose is this one." Song He said.

The screen changed again. A Red-haired Gorilla wearing a doctoral gown and cap appeared inside the profile-picture frame. Its gaze was blank and adorably bewildered, with a caption underneath:

"I feel like I didn't learn anything at all, but they still gave me a degree."

Laughter filled the auditorium. This image was practically a classic in the Academic Circle, and countless students used it every year.

"Of course, I recommend that all scientific researchers not imitate me. I'm not short of money, so I can do whatever I want. If you want to raise research funds on the platform, you'd better take a portrait that showcases your demeanor and leaves investors with the first impression that you're reliable. Who would invest in a scientific research project run by a gorilla?"

Another wave of laughter swept through the auditorium, like students listening to a teacher crack jokes in class.

"The next function is Academic Qualification verification." Song He said.

"We've already connected with more than 50% of the universities worldwide. The remaining 50% are still actively working on connecting with us."

"Clicking information authorization will automatically update your Academic Qualification information. But that isn't the end. You need to check and confirm it once. If there are no errors, submit it for verification. If there are errors, provide feedback and file an appeal."

On the large screen, the Academic Qualification section of Song He's account updated. Clicking it displayed his degree information.

"A reminder to everyone: be sure to confirm every academic qualification and degree!"

"If you attended a certain university for your undergraduate degree, confirm it. You may have pursued two master's degrees—confirm both. If you're currently pursuing a doctorate and haven't graduated yet, or if you dropped out halfway through, confirm that too. Every situation must be confirmed."

"Some people may think, 'I started at a junior college,' or 'I attended some diploma mill for my undergraduate degree, but later got into Peking University for graduate school. Can I just link my Peking University qualification and ignore the previous ones?' No!"

"I'll explain the specific reason later."

"The first step is only to link your institutions. The second step is deeper linking: linking as many of your achievements during your time at school as possible. You'll need to provide photos of certificates and medals, along with detailed information."

"For example, if you participated in an international robotics competition and won third place, take a photo of the certificate, enter the year, and link it. If you participated in an academic conference, upload a photo of your invitation or one taken at the event."

"This includes the universities connected to us. We'll collect the scores from every university examination, including the scores and rankings from every midterm and final exam, and add them to each person's account."

"The third step is papers and invention patents."

"We've connected with more than 95% of the paper databases worldwide, and we're still continuing to connect with more. We'll compile all the papers you've published and all your invention patents. You'll also need to confirm the information."

"The fourth step is work experience."

"If you interned at a scientific research institute or participated in a certain project, upload the information. If you worked in an R&D position at a company, upload that information as well. We'll verify the authenticity of the information through various channels."

"The fifth step is awards and titles."

"For example, if you've won the Ramanujan Prize or the WuXi AppTec Award, if you're the president of the Global South Quantum Physics Association, or if you're an editor of a university textbook, upload every bit of information!"

As Song He explained rapidly, the steps appeared on the large screen.

Academic Qualification Verification

Achievements While at School

Papers and Patents

Work Experience

Awards and Titles

"These five steps collect almost all the information about a scientific researcher. They're essential for opening an investment project!" Song He said.

"Besides that, there's other information, such as mentor-student relationships, research partners, family circumstances, and other more private details. You can choose whether to fill them in, and whether to make them public. Of course, it's best to fill them in."

The large screen rapidly listed all kinds of information that needed to be entered. There was so much that it was dazzling—more detailed than a household registration investigation.

"These pieces of information serve two purposes." Song He said.

"First, they're for investors to view. When an investor opens a scholar's account, they can see that scholar's extremely detailed résumé through the account information and use it as a reference when deciding whether to invest."

"Second, they're input into the Interstellar Scientific Research Large Model, which performs big-data calculations!"

The huge words "Interstellar Scientific Research Large Model" appeared on the large screen.

The audience was astonished. They probably hadn't expected a specialized large model to appear.

"The primary function of the Interstellar Scientific Research Large Model is to collect massive amounts of data for analysis and calculation, determine each scholar's scientific research potential, and present the results to investors as a reference!" Song He said.

"We worked on this model for a long time, using data authorized by tens of thousands of scholars from multiple partner organizations and repeatedly fine-tuning it!"

"I can't disclose the specific calculation details because they're a trade secret. But I can guarantee that this absolutely isn't a crude system of simply adding points. Instead, it uses an extremely complex set of calculation logic that is highly realistic!"

"Let's take Academic Qualification as an example."

"The large model analyzes the various scientific research output data of a school, such as paper impact factors, news about commercial implementation, and faculty strength. After conducting a comprehensive analysis, it produces an estimated value to determine roughly what level the students of that school are."

"But this analysis is constantly adjusted."

"For example, if a diploma mill had produced almost no scientific research in the past few years, the large model would rate the school very poorly and assign its students relatively low scores."

"But if that diploma mill suddenly hired famous professors and experts, its laboratories began producing high-quality papers, or many of its graduates suddenly got into Peking University or the Former University of Science and Technology, the large model would keenly notice the change and continuously raise its evaluation of the school!"

"After the evaluation of the school was raised, the scores of its students would also be fine-tuned, including both current students and graduates. After their scores rose, the students could receive more scientific research investment and produce more scientific research achievements. Their individual scores and the school's score would then rise again, forming a virtuous cycle of continuous improvement!"

"This large-model calculation isn't limited to schools. It also takes various factors, including honorary titles, into consideration and repeatedly adjusts and verifies them!"

"For example, the Nobel Prize. When we were debugging the large model, we discovered that the Nobel Prize wasn't a good factor. Instead, its value was gradually declining and might even become a negative influence. Why?"

"Because the Nobel Prize is often awarded for achievements made decades ago. Most recipients are elderly and have long since left the front lines of scientific research, lost their research capabilities, and moved into management or gone around exploiting their fame to make money."

"After analyzing the papers of Nobel laureates, the large model concluded that most Nobel laureates' academic careers were nearing their end after receiving the award. Naturally, their scores would continue to decline."

"But this isn't absolute. Take Xiang Xiaotong and me, for example. We're several decades younger than the average Nobel laureate. Therefore, after Nobel Prize data was entered, the large model didn't lower our scores by much. It only lowered them slightly, because judging by our ages, we still had the energy to conduct scientific research."

Everyone in the auditorium looked toward the front row, where a group of elderly Nobel laureates wore helpless smiles.

"That was only a tiny glimpse of how the large model operates."

"As the saying goes, there are gods three feet above your head. The Interstellar Scientific Research Large Model is similar to an omnipotent, omniscient god. It greedily absorbs data from the entire scientific community, uses massive calculations to observe every individual, and then produces a score to help investors understand the capabilities of scientists."

"What does the score look like? Let's look at an example!" Song He said. "I'll use one of my students as an example."

Lu Geng

Overall Score: 512 points

Strengths: Provincial Top Scorer in the gaokao; university examination scores ranking in the top 1% of his major; studying at the first-rate university Frontier Technology University School of Pharmacy; paper impact factor 270% higher than that of scholars in comparable circumstances; research direction with explosive achievement potential; long laboratory attendance and working hours; high usage of reagents and instruments; strong scientific research incentive environment

Weaknesses: Young age; not yet at the golden age when scientific research achievements tend to emerge explosively; small sample of papers, making it difficult to analyze his research abilities specifically; studying in a program at a newly established university, whose training capabilities remain to be observed; no mature team experience or long-term scientific research track record

Overall Evaluation: A young man with tremendous potential who may achieve a high success rate in specific research directions. Invest with caution.

"This large model's evaluation is basically the same as my assessment of Lu Geng." Song He said. "Of course, I understand Lu Geng more deeply. After all, the level of concentration he shows while working in the laboratory and the sharpness of his thinking when discussing scientific research with me aren't things that data can measure."

"This introduces another unofficial function: the Talent Scout Score!"