"There must be some differences between Amazon and Alibaba, but I believe they also have a lot in common," Ren said, pointing out that he felt the interpersonal communication at Alibaba is much closer.

As the lead scientist at iDST, the core institute for the NASA project, Ren has been tasked to recruit top talent around the globe and develop independent research teams to achieve his ultimate goal.

He said the development of AI aims to make machines smart enough to help humans work more efficiently. "Sticking to the purpose, I hope the team members can be pragmatic and are keen to deal with practical problems, which I think is more important to today's Alibaba.”

Ren Xiaofeng, 42, joined the Chinese internet giant Alibaba Group in June, 2017. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]