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1、About the Event

On 5 June 2026, our Dean, Prof. Yilei Shao, will be invited to participate in a high-level conversation hosted by the United Nations University (UNU), themed "Reimagining the Wealth of Nations: From Invisible Hand to Digital Hand." Prof. Yilei Shao is Founding Dean of Shanghai AI-Finance School (SAIFS) and SAIFS Research Center at East China Normal University (ECNU), and Director of the UNU-ECNU Hub in AI-Finance at ECNU. The event will begin at 18:30 in the 2F Reception Hall at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo. All are welcome to follow the event.


2、Background

In classical economic systems, economic activity and prosperity were largely measured through tangible production, physical assets, and concrete transactions. Today, however, intelligence is reshaping the foundations of the economy. As a result, the “invisible hand”, famously described by Adam Smith as a decentralized mechanism in which individual self-interest unintentionally advances the common good, is being replaced or supplemented by a “digital hand.”


To more accurately capture the characteristics of asilicon-based economy, where value is often intangible, Prof. Shao has proposed IDP(Intelligent Domestic Product) --  a “Silicon Index.” While GDP was designed to primarily measure a carbon-based, manufacturing-oriented economy, IDP accounts for computing power, data richness, algorithmic capabilities, intelligence infrastructure, and the depth of human-AI collaboration.


3、Conversation Topics

In this conversation, Prof. Yilei Shao will join UNU Rector Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala for a high-level discussion on how technologies are transforming concepts of capital, resources, and economic activity in the era of AI. This discussion will also explore the need for new governance frameworks to address emerging risks and promote accountability, transparency, and fairness.


4、Event Details

Date & Time:Friday, 5 June 2026, 18:30

Venue:2F Reception Hall, UNU Headquarters, Tokyo
Language:English
Registration:Advance registration is required. The registration deadline is 15:00 on 4 June 2026. Please click on the REGISTER button in the link below to access the online registration page.
🔗https://unu.edu/conversation-series/reimagining-wealth-nations-invisible-hand-digital-hand
Check-in:Please be prepared to present identification at check-in.



5、About the Speaker


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Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala is the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Rector of the United Nations University. He is also the Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAF) and South Africa Academy of Engineering (SAAE), and Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in the United States (The Academy). Prof. Marwala has extensive academic, policy, management, and international experience, and is a co-holder of five patents. His research has been multi-disciplinary, involving the theory and applications of artificial intelligence to engineering, social science, economics, politics, finance, and medicine. He holds a PhD degree from the University of Cambridge (UK), a Master of Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Pretoria (South Africa), and a Bachelor of Science degree (magna cum laude) from Case Western Reserve University (USA).



Professor Yilei Shao,Founding Dean of Shanghai AI-Finance School (SAIFS) and SAIFS Research Center at ECNU, Director of UNU-ECNU Hub in AI-Finance at ECNU, holds a Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from Princeton University. She was the former Secretary General of the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI) China Office from 2021 to 2023. In her previous experience, she has worked at Goldman Sachs’s headquarters in New York. As a pioneering interdisciplinary scholar, she not only focuses on the application of AI in the financial sector but also actively explores its innovative integration into education and arts, while deeply engaging with frontier issues such as AI governance and ethics. In 2025, she pioneered the concepts of “Silicon-based Economics”and“IDP(Intelligent Domestic Product)”, aiming to explore both theoretically and quantitatively how intelligence transforms productivity and reshapes the global political and economic system.


6、Notes

This is part of the UNU Conversation Series, which aims to foster audience participation. You are encouraged to engage with the speakers during the conversation and at the reception that will follow, where all event attendees are invited to enjoy hors d’oeuvres and drinks while exchanging ideas and making new contacts.Please note that food and photography are prohibited during events at UNU Headquarters, unless prior permission is granted by UNU.




Resource：Shanghai AI-Finance School，ECNU