At the recent Geek Park IF2025 Innovation Conference, Wang Xiaochuan, founder and CEO of Baichuan Intelligent, engaged in a dialogue with Zhang Peng, founder of Geek Park, elaborating on his deep thoughts regarding the medical field, AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), and technological progress.
Wang Xiaochuan reflected on his original intention to choose the medical field, which is both his dream of engaging in life sciences and a decision made after rational consideration. As early as 2000, during his graduate studies, he began to explore life sciences and developed a strong interest in the mathematical models behind life. Today, with the rapid development of large model technology, the realization of this dream has become possible.
Wang Xiaochuan believes that the competition of large models essentially takes place in the application arena. If one chooses a general application direction, it may be difficult to compete with large companies that have significant traffic advantages and small companies that are agile and innovative. The medical industry, being a relatively independent and high-demand field, can effectively circumvent these competitive pressures. For this reason, Baichuan Intelligent has always focused on innovation in medical technology rather than following industry trends into multimodal tracks such as text-to-video or voice interaction.
The technological approach of Baichuan Intelligent differs from other domestic large model companies, focusing on the intelligent enhancement of language models as the core to drive the implementation of medical applications. Wang Xiaochuan emphasized that raising the intelligence ceiling of models is particularly important in the medical field, as medical applications require precise and efficient intelligent support. This approach enables Baichuan Intelligent to stand out in the fierce competition of the large model industry.
Additionally, Wang Xiaochuan responded to rumors regarding large model companies potentially abandoning "pre-training." He clearly stated that Chinese large model companies must adhere to the "pre-training" strategy, as it is part of the national strategic resources. Unlike overseas pre-training driven by super platforms, China's pre-training relies more on scenario-driven approaches, and healthcare is an ideal application scenario.
This year, Baichuan Intelligent made significant progress in the pediatric field and collaborated with children's hospitals to launch a medical product called "One Big and Four Small." Wang Xiaochuan reiterated the three major directions in the medical field: shifting from doctor-centered to patient-centered; from hospital-centered to home-centered; and from disease-centered to health-centered. These directions signify a profound transformation in the healthcare service model and open up vast prospects for the application of large models in medicine in the future.
Wang Xiaochuan believes that healthcare is not just a vertical industry; it is also closely related to AGI, representing the future imagination of life sciences. He predicts that in the future, large models will "create doctors," fundamentally transforming the way healthcare is provided. He believes that advancements in medical technology could change the structure of human life and even promote the integration of human civilization with machine civilization. This is not only a continuation of his medical dream but also a comprehensive understanding of the fusion of future technology and life sciences.
