Chapter 962: If robots can perform magic tricks, what use is a magician like me?!
Zhang Qi, sitting in the audience, posed this difficult question, while Ge Fu, on stage, looked completely bewildered.
The magic trick he prepared this time was naturally different from the one he performed on the local TV station last time.
However, they all share the common characteristics of being festive, eye-catching, and memorable.
Anyway, magic is more fascinating when it's close to magic.
Ge Fu even brought out his most treasured magic tricks this time, preparing to put on a big show on stage.
But before they even got to the important part, the program was stopped halfway through.
"What's missing?"
Ge Fu pressed for clarification, not quite understanding Director Zhang's vague explanation.
"Your performance was too ordinary. Although you did things like turning cannons into fireworks and throwing ribbons, it had no educational value whatsoever."
Zhang Qi said.
Xiao He twitched the corner of his mouth.
Ge Fu also looked bewildered: "Our program is all about celebration and blessings. There's even a 'disappearing person' segment later on. Director Zhang, perhaps you could watch our performance later on?"
"No, no, what's so interesting about making a person disappear? Other audience members have seen it before. These are all magic tricks that came from abroad, right? You don't have any of our traditional Chinese elements at all. And can you guarantee that your magic tricks will be successful on stage? I think you should think about how to ensure the efficiency of your magic tricks..."
Zhang Qi waved his hand, "Anyway, this magic trick isn't working. You'd better find a different one."
Ge Fu: "..."
Now I understand why magicians in previous years were all playing with math in the end.
On the surface, it is a magic trick that anyone can imitate and replicate, but in reality, the underlying logic is a calculable mathematical law.
But this type of magic trick is not Ge Fu's forte.
"Does Director Zhang have any further suggestions?"
Ge Fu could only speak dryly.
Zhang Qi seemed to be deep in thought, his gaze falling on Xiao He. For some reason, he suddenly remembered the online news he had seen some time ago.
"Hey, I heard that AI and robotics are developing very rapidly this year, and the government is intentionally giving them preferential treatment. We can also show off our skills. This year, we'll do a robot magic trick!"
Zhang Qi's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands. "This sounds really interesting! And no one has ever performed this before!"
"Think about it, most robots are still quite dull and stupid. If we train them to perform magic tricks, wouldn't that mean they can do more delicate work in the future? This is also a form of publicity."
There was a moment of silence after his suggestion.
Ge Fu was dumbfounded, having never heard of this type of performance before. Xiao He, on the other hand, stared blankly, only thankful that he hadn't been assigned to perform a skit with the robot next door.
"Director Zhang, this—"
"You guys think about it again."
Zhang Qi waved his hand, indicating that after posing the question, he intended to let them figure it out themselves.
Ge Fu: "..."
And so their review ended in a rather muddled way.
After leaving the field, Ge Fu looked like he was questioning the meaning of life.
"A robot magician? What would I be needed for then?"
Ge Fu was incredulous and turned to Xiao He to ask, "What exactly do they mean? You can't nitpick like this. They didn't make this request when they finalized the draft, and now that we're almost at the rehearsal stage, they suddenly pull this stunt. If we could just hire a robot to perform, I wouldn't be here."
Xiao He chuckled as well: "We've only made temporary changes, which at least shows that the production team still has a lot of confidence in us."
The Spring Festival Gala program is not finalized all at once, but rather through a process of selection. At least until the third joint rehearsal, all programs still have the possibility of being replaced at any moment.
These are very strict and rigid rules, which means that everyone should be prepared to work hard for several months and then leave without even getting on stage.
"I'm very sorry, I don't have any ideas at the moment."
Ge Fu said dejectedly, "I originally thought that this time I could work with you again and the two of us could create other magic tricks with even more special performance effects."
It's common for magicians to be paired with magic assistants, but having two magicians is very difficult and rare, especially when both are proficient in high-difficulty techniques.
Ge Fu had enjoyed a very pleasant collaboration with Xiao He before, and they had created some amazing moments that made him famous. He had always wanted to collaborate with Xiao He again.
This was a rare opportunity, but I never expected it to turn out so humiliating.
"I know absolutely nothing about AI and robots."
Ge Fu shrugged. "Besides, the technology they're talking about requires borrowing from specialized tech companies. Or we could ask a few colleges."
He looked at Xiao He, trying to get some valuable advice, but found that his partner was already deep in thought.
-
To be honest, Director Zhang Qi's words actually reminded Xiao He.
This year's Spring Festival Gala is about making a name for myself, but the most important thing is to use this platform to generate buzz and promote the movie "Time Warp," which will be released during the Spring Festival.
After all, appearing on the Spring Festival Gala is all about gaining fame and popularity, and gaining those is all about making more money.
If that's the case, then promoting "Time Standoff" is for making money, so isn't promoting technology also for making money?
The director has made this request, and it's on such a big stage, so if we could subtly integrate some products...
Xiao He's mind raced through all the technical tools and props that could be added to this kind of magic trick, and finally, all his thoughts suddenly settled on one thing—
Robotic arm!
During the filming of "Time and Space Standoff", in order to better develop the robotic arm prop and reduce his own pressure, Xiao He extracted the intermediate mechanical modification skill from the system.
This skill, like hacking, has reached a world-class level of technology, but Xiao He rarely uses it and is very cautious about it. After all, he graduated with a computer science degree, so his hacking and AI development skills can be explained to some extent, but when it comes to mechanical modifications, he really needs to be careful.
Aside from some electronic products he modified himself, the only technologies Xiao He officially sold were prosthetic limb modifications and drone modifications and upgrades.
Xiao He remembers clearly that he specifically asked Teacher Song Zhe to act as a go-between and collaborated with a domestic technology company that was very advanced in prosthetic limb research and development. They even worked together on a charity project to install prosthetic limbs for retired soldiers.
Later, after his company, Heguang Technology, was established, this new collaboration included an upgraded version of the Xiaohei AI 2.0 system.
It is said that while developing prosthetics to connect severed arms, they were also developing independent arm control. To put it another way, if the human brain can control an arm on its own, does that mean that the brain may even be able to control an entire robot on its own in the future?
AI systems will also play a crucial role in this process.
To be honest, Xiao He was quite taken aback when he first heard about this tech company's idea.
Because this idea is so similar to the script of "Time Standoff".
Early human research and development may have been simply aimed at benefiting more people and enabling cybernetic regeneration of severed limbs.
AI-assisted mechanical control is also intended to benefit people more and become a tool for a more convenient life.
Both of these developments were initiated with good intentions.
Unfortunately, in its later development, it gradually deviated from its original trajectory, eventually even giving rise to two different extreme paths—just like the two parallel endings in "Time Warp".
The similarity was so striking that Xiao He even momentarily thought they were both standing at a crossroads in the history of human technological development.
On one side is cyber ascension, and on the other is mecha.
So perhaps out of curiosity, although Xiao He did not have any further in-depth contact with that company, they and Guang Technology continued to provide that company with more advanced AI technology.
Now, trying to recall the company name... I think it was called...
Fusheng Technology?