Abstract
According to the 2020-2021 evaluation report on the development of human intelligence computing power in China released by the global market analysis agency IDC, the scale of China's artificial intelligence infrastructure market reached $3.93 billion, a year-on-year increase of 26.8%. For the traditional financial industry, artificial intelligence will be an important step in improving its business efficiency and innovation. AI is an essential technology for traditional risk management and financial supervision. China's FinTech ecosystem will gradually move towards a new ecosystem of “Al + Finance.” This chapter aims to study how AI-enabled agile internet of things can enhance the business efficiency of China's FinTech ecosystem. This chapter will investigate the characteristics of China's AI-enabled agile internet of things. Case studies will be used for discussion. In addition, scientometrics analysis through CiteSpace will be conducted. Finally, this chapter will provide suggestions for policymakers to build a sustainable FinTech ecosystem for enterprises.
TopIntroduction
The key to FinTech is the integration of finance and technology, and technological breakthroughs are the driving force of FinTech development. Therefore, considering the promotion of information technology to finance, the development of FinTech can be divided into the following three stages in China (Forbeschina, 2021):
The first stage is 2005-2010—the Internet era. The Internet accelerated the interconnection of the world, leading to the rapid development of Internet commerce and some changes in the financial industry. Specifically, financial network connection, simple traditional financial business online, through the application of IT technology to realize the electronic automation of office and business, to improve business efficiency.
The second stage is the period from 2011 to 2015 which is the era of Mobile Internet. The popularity of smartphones makes it possible for people to communicate anytime and anywhere, which greatly improves the efficiency of network utilization. In this stage, traditional financial institutions build online business platforms, transform traditional financial channels, and realize information sharing and business integration. The explosive growth of China's mobile Internet has driven the rapid development of Internet finance (Ding et al., 2022). At this time, the penetration rate of the Internet in the financial industry is gradually increasing, but it does not change the nature of traditional finance.
The third stage is the strong combination of finance and technology. In the era of artificial intelligence (AI) since 2016, technologies such as cloud computing, big data, blockchain and artificial intelligence have become increasingly mature and become an important driving force for financial innovation. At this stage, the financial industry will change the traditional sources of financial information collection, risk pricing models, transaction decision-making processes and the role of credit intermediaries through new technologies, greatly improving the efficiency and solving the pain points of traditional finance, such as digital currency, big data credit investigation, intelligent investment, and supply chain finance (Chen et al., 2022). At this point, the combination of finance and science and technology has revolutionized traditional finance.
At present, the new generation of artificial intelligence is booming all over the world. The AI-enabled agile Internet of Things (IoT) has also injected new momentum into economic and social development, profoundly changing people's production and lifestyle. According to the 2020-2021 evaluation report on the development of human intelligence computing power in China released by the global market analysis agency IDC (2020), the scale of China's artificial intelligence infrastructure market reached $3.93 billion, a year-on-year increase of 26.8%. At the same time, FinTech represented by artificial intelligence has also ushered in a new stage of transformation and upgrading. For the traditional financial industry, artificial intelligence will be an important step in improving its business efficiency and innovation. AI is an essential technology for traditional risk management and financial supervision. China's FinTech ecosystem will gradually move towards a new ecosystem of “AI + Finance”. The development of BSN blockchain (a global public infrastructure network for deploying and running blockchain applications with cross-cloud services, cross-portal and cross-underlying framework) and Robo-advisor (a digital platform for automated, algorithmically driven financial planning services) are both the evidence that artificial intelligence enhancing the Chinese financial market.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Internet of Things (IoT): A giant network of connected things and people all of which collect and share data about the way they are used and about the environment around them.
Crowdfunding: A way to raise money for an individual or organization by collecting “donations” through family, friends, friends of friends, strangers, businesses, and more. By using social media to spread awareness, people can reach more potential donors than traditional forms of fundraising.
Fintech: The term that describes the group of new financial technologies designed to enhance and automate the use and delivery of financial services. It is changing how we save, borrow, and invest money by making digital financial transactions easier and simpler, without the need for a traditional bank.
Asset-Backed Security (ABS): A type of financial investment that is collateralized by an underlying pool of assets—usually ones that generate a cash flow from debt, such as loans, leases, credit card balances, or receivables. It takes the form of a bond or note, paying income at a fixed rate for a set amount of time, until maturity. For income-oriented investors, asset-backed securities can be an alternative to other debt instruments, like corporate bonds or bond funds.
Artificial Intelligence (AI): The ability of a computer or a robot controlled by a computer to do tasks that are usually done by humans because they require human intelligence and discernment. Although there are no AIs that can perform the wide variety of tasks an ordinary human can do, some AIs can match humans in specific tasks.
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC): A CBDC is issued and regulated by a nation's monetary authority or central bank. CBDCs promote financial inclusion and simplify the implementation of monetary and fiscal policy.
Blockchain-Based Service Network (BSN) Blockchain: A cross-cloud, cross-portal, cross-framework global infrastructure network used to deploy and operate all types of blockchain applications.
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs): Businesses that maintain revenues, assets or a number of employees below a certain threshold. Each country has its own definition of what constitutes a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). Certain size criteria must be met and occasionally the industry in which the company operates in is taken into account as well.
Regulatory Sandbox: A set of rules that allow businesses, usually within a specific industry, to test themselves in the market for a set period of time — generally two to three years — without being subject to any particular set of regulations.