Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma has revealed that big data will usher in an era which will be all about helping other people and "creating the future."

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Guiyang International Big Data Expo 2015 on May 26, Ma said big data or data technology (DT) is a good way for people who are now in power, and have used IT, to help themselves and to help others become powerful, Want China Times reported. 

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"The IT era lets other people service you, the DT era lets you service other people. The IT era uses yesterday's information to analyze and control the future, whereas the DT era is about creating the future," Ma said.

The Alibaba founder added that DT will help up to 80 percent of the companies that were not able to adapt to the IT era.

Ma compared big data to robots, explaining that DT will turn robots into "intelligent people."

Alibaba, Foxconn, Huawei, and Google are just some of the tech giants who joined Premier Li Keqiang, Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai, and other Chinese officials at the Big Data Expo.

Xinhua reported that the expo in the capital of Guizhou Province was also open to the public.

Other industry leaders that were at the ceremony are Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou, Tencent CEO Ma Huateng, Gartner Inc. Vice President Linda Price, HP China Chairman Mai Yunan, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun, UMG General Manager Anand Chandrasekher, and FlickrUber CEO Travis Kalannick.

"Data is a basic resource and an important productive force. Big data, combined with cloud computing and the Internet of Things, is rapidly and deeply changing the ways of production and living," Li said.

The premier added that the country is considering a strategy that would encourage the industry to use and innovate big data to yield "better solutions" for different industries such as medicine, transportation, education, and government.

TagsJack Ma, alibaba chairman, big data technology, Guiyang International Big Data Expo 2015, china big data, china big data expo