Alibaba Group has proposed the establishment of an open research platform called Luohan Academy to increase technological collaborations and measure its impact worldwide.
The program aims to integrate Nobel Laureates and international social scientists to raise awareness about universal challenges faced by societies as a result of rapid development of digital technologies.
Some of the The Luohan Academy’s current academic committee members include Nobel Laureates and prominent scholars around the world like Patrick Bolton, Barbara and David Zalaznick professor of business, Columbia Business School, Markus Brunnermeier, Edwards S. Sanford professor of economics, Princeton University, Bengt Holmstrom, 2016 Nobel Laureate, among others.
The Luohan Academy will further bolster and compliment Alibaba's DAMO Academy which was launched in October last year.
“The advancement of technology is coming at us at dazzling speed and it has changed almost every aspect of human society. So when we look at the benefits from technology, it is equally important to understand the challenges we faced and how we can work together to address them," said Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba Group.
“We feel the obligation to use our technology, our resources, our people and everything we have to help societies embrace the technological transformation and its implications. This is why we initiated an open and collaborative research platform, the Luohan Academy, and invite top international thinkers to join this collaboration.”