Artificial intelligence: level 0 -> level 1

"Aren't you going to wait until I finish my proposal?"

Wu Chen asked.

He knew of a master who had borrowed six million in one go from a wealthy woman he had just met.

But he had never imagined something like that would happen to him.

"No need. My father's caution is just part of his nature, but I understand the value of the technology you demonstrated today, and the factory's technicians wouldn't have misjudged it either. But I want a forty percent stake in the new company,"

Jiang Nan said.

"Then what happens if Director Jiang agrees to invest too?"

"If I invest, I won't let him invest as well. I'll bear the risk myself."

It was clear that Jiang Nan also wanted to do something for her family.

Seeing Wu Chen hesitate, she added, "Although I'm offering less money, I can give you more freedom than my father."

"Then do you want decision-making power?"

"Yes."

"Then forget it."

Wu Chen refused.

He planned to establish himself in the artificial intelligence industry, and he would do some things that looked worthless and were likely to spark controversy.

If he couldn't steer the ship himself, he would rather give up owning an ocean liner outright and start with a small sampan instead.

After a few more rounds of bargaining, Jiang Nan hadn't expected Wu Chen to be so firm.

In the end, she had no choice but to accept a twenty percent stake in the company and its dividends, with no decision-making power-far worse than she had expected.

Wu Chen hadn't expected her to accept, either.

"Bank transfers require an appointment a day in advance, so can we register the company the day after tomorrow?"

Although Jiang Nan had argued fiercely during their discussion, once it was behind them, she was quick to get things done.

"All right. Let's meet at the Binjiang District Administration for Industry and Commerce at ten the morning after tomorrow."

"Nine. I'll pick you up here."

Jiang Nan spoke forcefully, seemingly trying to regain some ground.

Wu Chen smiled. "Nine thirty. And over the next two days, help me find an office."

After returning home, Wu Chen took a shower, ate with Wu Shufen, and sat down at his computer.

Since he was starting a company, he needed core technology of his own.

The most tangible form of that was a product.

Wu Chen gave serious thought to the technical theories behind "Little Jiang No. 1," preparing to complete them and exchange them for the information needed to build a mass-production line.

According to the system's description, its core capabilities were based on HOG feature extraction and an SVM classifier, with CLAHE adaptive lighting compensation and a Gaussian bilateral filtering algorithm integrated into it.

The complete set of theories he needed was therefore clear.

First was HOG feature extraction. It wasn't new technology, and Wu Chen easily finished writing a review of it.

Second was the SVM classifier. It was basic knowledge in the field of artificial intelligence and required no thought at all.

Third was the CLAHE adaptive lighting compensation algorithm. Its core was contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization, which addressed feature extraction bias caused by uneven lighting on production lines. It was worth studying in depth.

Fourth was the Gaussian bilateral filtering algorithm, which preprocessed images to reduce noise while preserving edges. He could tweak it and put it in a patent.

Fifth...

Besides the capabilities the sample already had, Wu Chen also added the lightweight CNN intelligent algorithm he had researched earlier.

That was the core of his product.

He would use optimization algorithms far ahead of this era to make up for shortcomings in hardware and overtake on the curve.

Time flowed by like water.

Only when he completed his final research did Wu Chen realize that more than a day had passed.

Looking at the dozen or so documents before him, he couldn't help marveling once again at the power of level 1 intelligence.

His old self couldn't possibly have finished all this in a single day, even knowing the general outlines of the material.

Wu Chen took a sip of water, cleared his throat, and summoned the system.

"System, verify the theories!"

[Papers received: "Research on the Optimization of HOG Feature Extraction and SVM Classifiers in Industrial Small-Target Detection," "A Synergistic Noise Reduction Algorithm Using CLAHE Adaptive Lighting Compensation and Gaussian Bilateral Filtering," "Design and Implementation of an ARM9-Based Embedded Machine Vision System Architecture"...]

[Evaluating]

[Evaluation complete]

[Congratulations, host. You have completed all theories required for "Little Jiang No. 1" and integrated a convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm]

[New sample obtained: industrial-grade artificial intelligence visual inspection camera (upgraded model)]

[Grade: blue]

[Price: 4 skill points]

[Purchase limit: 5]

[Advantages: an improved model based on Little Jiang No. 1, integrating a lightweight CNN deep-learning algorithm. Responds within 30 ms, supports multiple categories of industrial workpieces, and has 40% greater resistance to lighting and vibration interference]

[Rename?]

"Yes, rename it Little Jiang No. 2!"

[Sample renamed "Little Jiang No. 2"]

[Sample shop: Vengeance No. 1, Little Jiang No. 1, Dawn No. 1, Little Jiang No. 2 (new)]

[Production blueprints currently available: Dawn No. 1 (100 skill points), Little Jiang No. 1 (new) (70 skill points), Little Jiang No. 2 (new) (150 skill points)]

It worked!

Wu Chen was thrilled as he looked at the newly appeared sample and production blueprints.

Unfortunately, he didn't have enough skill points to exchange for them.

He now had a pitiful 0.827 skill points.

Never mind Little Jiang No. 2, which cost 150 skill points.

He couldn't even exchange for the production blueprint for Little Jiang No. 1, which didn't have the advanced intelligent algorithm integrated into it.

"Being short on money is bad enough, but I'm short on skill points too."

Just as Wu Chen was pondering how to quickly obtain skill points, the system suddenly sent another notification.

[Congratulations, host. Artificial intelligence skill has risen to level 1]

[Reward: one production blueprint and its corresponding samples free of charge]

[Please select the production blueprint to redeem]

There's a deal this good too?!

It was just like being given a pillow when drowsiness struck!

Wu Chen immediately issued a command.

"Redeem the production line information and all the samples for Little Jiang No. 2!"

Soon, five silver-gray cameras appeared before him.

Their bodies were slimmer and lighter than Little Jiang No. 1's, and their interfaces included an additional universal port compatible with domestically produced hardware.

Most importantly, he felt a huge amount of information appear in his mind.

It was all about building the Little Jiang No. 2 production line!

The information was extensive. Besides the product's specifications, it included how to build the production line, key process flows, equipment selection lists, quality control standards, and more.

In other words, as long as he had enough space and materials, he could guide workers step by step in building a production line capable of mass production right away!

Starting from zero, that would have taken at least three months!

And only a top-tier engineering team could have done it!

Even if Wu Chen stopped teaching now and applied for a chief engineer position at a factory, it wouldn't be a problem.

What excited Wu Chen even more was that his artificial intelligence skill had leveled up, while his engineering progress had also risen by 20%!

[Basic attributes]

[Intelligence: level 1 (1% -> 15%)]

[Stamina: level 1 (0%)]

[Skill levels]

[Artificial intelligence: level 0 (71%) -> level 1 (0%)]

[Materials science: level 0 (0%)]

[Chemistry: level 0 (0%)]

[Physics: level 0 (0%)]

[Engineering: level 0 (2% -> 22%)]

[Energy science: level 0 (0%)]

After checking, Wu Chen quickly discovered the enormous benefits of raising his skill level.

If raising intelligence from level 0 to level 1 was like changing from a reptile into a being with elementary intelligence—a strategic improvement-

Then raising his artificial intelligence skill from level 0 to level 1 was like progressing from the age of manual labor to the age of the steam engine, a leap on the tactical level.

The points of knowledge from his previous life that had grown hazy became incomparably clear in his mind.

It was as though a richly stocked library had appeared in his brain, where he could freely consult the information needed for the road to ultimate artificial intelligence.

Of course, much of the information was still missing, including material that had already been well developed in his previous life. There was only a name or a direction.

For example, under the direction of artificial general intelligence were listed a series of topics, including cross-modal fusion and interaction protocols, unsupervised domain adaptation frameworks, and causal graph inference algorithms with time delays.

There were simply no specific details.

But for a researcher, that was enough!

The worst thing in research was heading in the wrong direction!

In high school, for example, everyone knew the ultimate goal was the college entrance exam, and they also knew what knowledge it required. All they had to do was study.

But in university or after starting work, people often found themselves lost, wanting to learn but not knowing what to study.

Now Wu Chen finally had no need to worry.

All he had to do was proceed with his research step by step!