Chinese billionaire Jack Ma and the core leadership of Alibaba Group Holding and Ant Group spent over an hour with teachers in Hangzhou on Tuesday, discussing the profound challenges and opportunities brought about by artificial intelligence.

Ma told the group that the impact of AI was “immense”, but so were the “opportunities” and that teenagers held the greatest hope and opportunity for adapting to and enabling transformation in the AI era, according to a statement issued by Hangzhou Yungu School, which hosted the visit.

AI offered a chance for education to “return to its essence”, Ma said. Time spent memorising textbooks could be freed up to cultivate creativity and imagination, according to the founder of Alibaba, which also owns the South China Morning Post.

Present at the meeting were Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai, CEO Eddie Wu Yongming, e-commerce business group CEO Jiang Fan, Ant chairman Eric Jing Xiandong and Ant CEO Cyril Han Xinyi, collectively reflecting the companies’ confidence in AI advancement. Ant is the fintech affiliate of Alibaba

The meeting involved dozens of teachers at the school in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang province where Alibaba is based. The privately run school, which covers kindergarten to high school, was funded by Alibaba’s founders.

Tsai highlighted a skill essential in the AI era: critical thinking, which was about asking the right questions. The ability to communicate – both with machines and other people – may become one of the most crucial skills.