Super God-Level Top Student
Chapter 965 - 368: The Position of First Director Belongs to None but You

With Dou Dou joining, this journey felt incredibly fulfilling.

The business-class carriage had four seats. Qiao Ze sat at the front, quietly lost in thought, while Lv Bei, Li Chengze, and Chen Yiwen chatted enthusiastically with Dou Dou about the future. For most of the time, Dou Dou was the one chattering away non-stop, while the three of them simply listened in silence.

Dou Dou described the grand blueprint after the foundational infrastructure of the future Smart City was completed, touching upon every aspect of ordinary people's lives.

It felt like a thorough enlightenment.

As for how Dou Dou boasted about the future, Qiao Ze didn't really care.

No matter how wonderful the future could be, it would only manage to satisfy the majority. A cake cannot appear out of thin air, and any innovation at the fundamental technical level requires sacrifices. Those paying the price obviously wouldn't be happy.

Even the most capable people can't make resources appear out of nowhere, and then redistribute them.

Not to mention that during the initial implementation of the Smart City, many people would experience an adjustment period. After all, the core logic of artificial intelligence is about rules, while human nature always hopes that when rules constrain others, they are rigid; but when applied to oneself, they can be flexible.

That's why Qiao Ze didn't even need to think to realize that there would surely be a pile of chaos at that time. And the more people who enjoy stirring up trouble, the more they would resist the constraints of rules. If those who were sacrificed added fuel to the fire, who knows what kind of uproar could erupt online.

The more gloriously they speak of the future now, the more likely the backlash would be later. Therefore, the degree to which artificial intelligence would ultimately intervene in the Smart City would depend on the determination of the management departments and the overall reception of Xilin City's residents.

Placing faith in Dou Dou is less reliable than hoping for a society where more people are willing to adhere to reasonable rules and speak up, and where the attitude of the administrators could be more resolute.

These things were not worth the effort for Qiao Ze to discuss, let alone explain.

After all, he had already secured the opportunity for Dou Dou. If artificial intelligence in the Smart City couldn't deeply integrate into the city's management in the future, it wouldn't cause any loss for him—or for Xilin, for that matter.

The current construction already fell under the category of foundational IoT infrastructure development. Even if they didn't use the large Smart City platform in the future, these infrastructure upgrades would still significantly enhance the city's convenience and disaster prevention capabilities.

All in all, no matter how you calculate it, it's a no-lose situation—so that's enough.

Qiao Ze planned to make Xilin City his long-term home in the future, and it was possible that many international friends would also be willing to relocate to Xilin City for long-term residence and research. Naturally, he hoped Xilin City could develop even better. The happiness index of a city isn't just about prices; it's closely tied to the collective moral quality of its residents.

A place with humanity and warmth is surely more comfortable to live in. And the fact was long proven: kindness and compassion often require rules and order to sustain. Relying solely on people's moral standards to maintain the normal operation of society inevitably puts rule-abiding, good people at the greatest disadvantage.

The ultimate outcome would inevitably associate the label of "good person" with negative terms like weak, foolish, and naive, which would eventually fade due to bad money driving out good.

This was the basic principle of societal functioning that Qiao Ze had summarized after long-term observation. Whether others acknowledged it or not, he didn't care. But when he had the opportunity and ability to do something for the place where he intended to live long-term, he naturally wanted to promote the power of rules, even if the resistance was substantial.

And if even Huaxia couldn't implement it, then this world likely wouldn't have any utopia capable of doing so.

And so, when the high-speed rail reached its final stop at the Capital, the discussion on artificial intelligence management systems among the three humans and one AI still seemed far from over.

It was evident, though, that when it came to actually getting work done, Dou Dou's capabilities remained uncertain. But in terms of talking, Dou Dou was truly exceptional—in just half a day, it managed to turn three people who previously harbored doubts about AI managing cities into loyal advocates of the future Smart City.

Especially Chen Yiwen, who seemed to wish that the Smart City foundational infrastructure in Xilin could be completed in one day, and that the companies bidding on robot production could swiftly manufacture all kinds of highly automated robots, just so he could experience the joy of seeing machines intervene in city management as soon as possible.

He even entertained the idea of buying a house in Xilin to settle down, and possibly bringing his entire family to Xilin for long-term residence in the future.

Of course, for now, it was only an idea.

Chen Yiwen's family situation was likely the type most reluctant to leave their hometown.

After all, his family owned two houses, not just two apartments, and dealing with assets would be quite complicated. Not to mention that in that generation, all their neighbors were relatives, so they were familiar with everyone they saw outside their doors. For people like them to suddenly move to a new city, it was highly unlikely.

Unless Dou Dou's artificial intelligence intervention could indeed extend human lifespan by a decade or so—then perhaps such a possibility might arise.

However, if Dou Dou really possessed such capabilities, there'd be no need to relocate. Xilin's experience would inevitably be promoted nationwide, and there wouldn't be much resistance.

Once disembarked from the high-speed rail, vehicles were already arranged for pickup—something that had always been impeccably well-managed domestically.

Generally, as long as it was a reasonably large event, or the guests had a certain level of prestige, vehicles for pick-up and drop-off would always be arranged properly.

However, the car for pick-up this time was quite unique.

Qiao Ze originally thought it would be a vehicle sent by the Science Academy, but the license plate made it clear that it wasn't. Especially since Li Chengze, after conversing with someone, directly swapped cars with Chen Yiwen, leaving Qiao Ze with only Lv Bei accompanying him in the end.