In the morning of September 11, 2025, the 2025 Inclusion · Bund Conference was officially launched in the Huangpu Expo Park in Shanghai. At the opening forum of the conference, Richard Sutton, the 2024 Turing Award winner and "father of reinforcement learning," delivered a keynote speech. He pointed out that the era of human data surplus is approaching its limit, and artificial intelligence is entering an "experience era" centered on continuous learning, whose potential will far exceed anything before.
The Rise of the 'Experience Era' in Artificial Intelligence
Sutton stated in his speech that most current machine learning methods involve transferring passive, static human knowledge to AI. However, this is reaching the limits of human data, unable to generate new knowledge or adapt to continuous learning. He believes that true intelligence requires a new data source, one generated through direct interaction between agents and the world, which is how humans and other animals learn.
He defined "experience" as the exchange of three signals—observation, action, and reward—between an agent and the world, and emphasized that "experience is the core and foundation of all intelligence." Sutton noted that reinforcement learning has led us into this new "experience era," but to fully realize its potential, two key technologies—continuous learning and meta-learning—are still immature and need further development.
Collaboration Is Key to Human and AI Prosperity
Facing concerns about AI potentially causing bias, unemployment, or even human extinction, Sutton believes such fears are exaggerated and point to the influence of certain organizations and individuals acting in their own interest. He emphasized that the greatest superpower of humans lies in collaboration, which is the root of great achievements such as the economy, markets, and governments.
He said that future prosperity for both AI and humans will come from decentralized collaboration, as intelligent agents with different goals can achieve mutual benefits through cooperation. He called on people to seek, support, and institutionalize collaboration, as it is "the source of all good things in the world."
Artificial Intelligence Is an Inevitable Step in Cosmic Evolution
Looking ahead to the future of artificial intelligence, Sutton proposed four predictive principles: there is no single consensus on AI development; humans will truly understand and create intelligence; human intelligence will soon be surpassed by superintelligent AI or enhanced humans; power and resources will flow to the smartest agents. He believes that based on these principles, the replacement of humans by AI is inevitable.
