Chapter 259 - 196: Advancing in Parallel

Chapter 259: Chapter 196: Advancing in Parallel

A thought struck Chen Lin when he heard this.

"Elder Xiang, do you mean I should set a clear, quantifiable goal for them?"

"That’s right." Xiang Wentian’s tone carried a hint of approval. "You’re a quick learner."

"Set goals, set deadlines, set resource constraints."

"Let them do what they do best within those constraints."

"That way, you can ensure the project stays on track while still allowing them to showcase their talents."

Understanding dawned on Chen Lin.

"Thank you, Elder Xiang! I know what to do now!"

"Mm, go on." Xiang Wentian’s voice carried a hint of fatigue. "I should get some rest, too."

"Rest well, Elder Xiang."

After hanging up, Chen Lin sat in the conference room, lost in thought.

Elder Xiang’s words had given him a great deal of inspiration.

What he needed to do now was break the project’s goals down into several distinct phases.

Then, he would assign tasks based on the requirements of each phase.

With this in mind, Chen Lin picked up a pen and began sketching and writing on the conference room whiteboard.

...

「Three days later, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 13th.」

Everyone was gathered once again in the Yanhai Company conference room.

Chen Lin sat at the head of the table, with Bai Qian and Pan Si still seated on either side.

In front of each of them lay a thick technical proposal.

Chen Lin first had Bai Qian explain his proposal, and then had Pan Si explain his.

The two proposals were, as before, diametrically opposed.

Bai Qian’s proposal centered on architectural innovation, but it would take longer—possibly more than six months—to see results.

Pan Si’s proposal focused on rapid iteration by fine-tuning and optimizing existing open-source models. He estimated they could produce a usable first-version product within two months.

After listening to their explanations, Chen Lin was silent for a moment.

Then, he spoke slowly.

"I’ve finished reviewing both of your proposals."

"To be honest, they’re both very good."

Both Bai Qian and Pan Si’s faces lit up with anticipation.

However, Chen Lin’s next words left them both stunned.

"So, I’ve decided—we’re doing both."

What?

Bai Qian and Pan Si’s eyes widened at the same time.

Chen Lin looked at their shocked expressions, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"I’m adopting a dual-track, parallel strategy."

He stood up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up a marker, and started writing.

"The first track will be Dr. Pan’s responsibility."

"Your mission is to quickly build a prototype system based on existing open-source models."

"The focus will be on the data-cleaning process and model alignment."

"I’m giving you three months."

"In three months, I want to see a functioning prototype with performance at least on par with the average of the mainstream models currently on the market."

After speaking, Chen Lin turned to look at Pan Si.

Pan Si was taken aback for a moment, then nodded forcefully.

"No problem, President Chen!"

Chen Lin turned again to look at Bai Qian.

"The second track will be Dr. Bai’s responsibility."

"However, your task, for now, is not to directly implement your new architecture."

Hearing this, Bai Qian’s expression immediately changed.

"President Chen, what do you mean by that—"

Chen Lin raised a hand, cutting him off.

"Dr. Bai, please let me finish."

His tone was calm, but it carried an undeniable firmness.

"I believe your new architecture has value."

"But, as Dr. Pan said, there is a huge gap between theory and engineering implementation."

"So, I hope you can do one thing first—"

On the whiteboard, Chen Lin emphatically wrote two large words:

MATHEMATICAL VERIFICATION

"I will develop the mathematical expression for a brand-new algorithm, one superior to existing neural network architectures, within one month."

Chen Lin looked at Bai Qian, his gaze burning.

"At that point, your task will be to convert my mathematical algorithm into executable code and use experiments to verify the feasibility of the new architecture."

"I’m giving you two months."

"In two months, I want to see detailed experimental data proving that the new architecture is feasible, both in theory and in practice."

After hearing this, Bai Qian was completely stunned.

He stared blankly at Chen Lin, his mind in a whirl.

’Does President Chen mean he’s going to develop a brand-new AI algorithm in one month?’

’And one that’s superior to existing neural network architectures?’

’Is... is that even possible?’

However, when Bai Qian saw Chen Lin’s calm and confident eyes, the doubts in his heart inexplicably vanished.

He suddenly remembered that this young man before him had, at a mathematics conference, deduced the existence of a new AI algorithm on the spot, right in front of the world’s top mathematicians.

’If it’s him...’

’Maybe he really can do it.’

Bai Qian took a deep breath and nodded forcefully.

"I understand, President Chen."

"I accept this task."

Chen Lin smiled with satisfaction.

"Very good."

He turned to face everyone present.

"Starting today, our AI project is officially launched."

"Dr. Pan will be in charge of the rapid prototype track, and Dr. Bai will be in charge of the new architecture validation track."

"The two tracks will advance in parallel, without interfering with each other."

"Dr. Pan and Dr. Bai, please calculate the computing resources you need and submit the budget to Assistant Huang. Yunqing, you’ll assist Assistant Huang with verifying the requests and handling reimbursement."

"Shen Yan and Sun Yu, for now, the two of you will assist Dr. Pan’s team with data annotation and cleaning."

Chen Lin assigned all the tasks in one breath, his gaze sweeping over everyone once more.

"Does anyone have any questions?"

The conference room fell silent.

Although Bai Qian and Pan Si both still felt some dissatisfaction, Chen Lin’s "dual-track" plan had at least given both of them a ray of hope.

Bai Qian could continue researching the new architecture he had set his heart on.

Pan Si could also follow his own approach to quickly create a product.

The two looked at each other and ultimately chose to accept.

"No questions, President Chen."

"I don’t have any questions either."

Seeing this, Chen Lin nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright then, meeting adjourned!"

...

After the meeting, everyone gradually left the conference room.

Yunqing walked over to Shen Yan, lowered her voice, and whispered:

"Yanyan, don’t you think the boss was so cool just now?"

Shen Yan’s cheeks reddened slightly. She gave a small nod and then returned to her seat.

Meanwhile, Chen Lin sat alone in the conference room, looking at the densely packed words on the whiteboard and letting out a long sigh of relief.

’Finally got that sorted out.’

’Although the "dual-track" approach sounds great, putting it into practice will definitely be difficult.’

’Especially that boast I just made about developing a new AI algorithm in a month—or to be precise, the mathematical representation of the algorithm.’

’That wasn’t just empty talk.’

’I have to deliver on it.’

’Otherwise, Bai Qian’s work can’t move forward, and the entire project will be affected.’

However, Chen Lin still had absolute confidence in his [Little Mathematician] title.

Chen Lin had also given thought to Shen Yan and Sun Yu’s work assignments.

Their current workload of one or two projects per month was very light for them, and both of them had some programming experience.

More importantly, in the future, after they developed their own large model, the task of ’translating’ client problems into mathematical problems would be handed over to the AI. The company’s technical staff would all transition to artificial intelligence development.

Chen Lin wanted them to start adapting early. After all, data cleaning and alignment were much, much simpler than developing a neural network architecture.

As Chen Lin was thinking, the phone on his desk suddenly vibrated.

He picked it up and saw it was a WeChat message from Academician Liang Tianshi.

Liang Tianshi: [Chen Lin, I have news, and it’s even better than I expected. Are you free for a call tomorrow morning?]

Chen Lin’s heart stirred when he saw this message.

Chen Lin replied immediately:

Chen Lin: [I’m free, Academician Liang. You can call me anytime.]

After sending the message, Chen Lin stared at his phone screen, a sense of anticipation growing within him.

’Looks like there will be new developments tomorrow.’

He stood up, walked out of the conference room, and returned to his desk.

Opening his computer, Chen Lin began to research various materials on neural network architectures.

’If I’m going to develop a new algorithm within a month, I need to start preparing now.’