Time spent memorising textbooks could be freed up to cultivate creativity and imagination, according to Ma, the founder of Alibaba
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenCoco Fengin GuangdongPublished: 11:37am, 4 Mar 2026Chinese billionaire Jack Ma and the core leadership of Alibaba Group Holding and Ant Group spent over an hour with teachers in Hangzhou on Tuesday, discussing the profound challenges and opportunities brought about by artificial intelligence.Ma told the group that the impact of AI was “immense”, but so were the “opportunities” and that teenagers held the greatest hope and opportunity for adapting to and enabling transformation in the AI era, according to a statement issued by Hangzhou Yungu School, which hosted the visit.
The meeting involved dozens of teachers at the school in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang province where Alibaba is based. The privately run school, which covers kindergarten to high school, was funded by Alibaba’s founders.
Present at the meeting were Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai, CEO Eddie Wu Yongming, e-commerce business group CEO Jiang Fan, Ant chairman Eric Jing Xiandong and Ant CEO Cyril Han Xinyi. Ant is the fintech affiliate of Alibaba.
