TikTok CEO predicts AI-driven scientific breakthrough within three years
publishers 69articles 165first reported 23 Sep, 14:00 UTCdeveloping since 30 Sep · 30 editions
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said artificial intelligence could produce a major scientific breakthrough within the next two to three years, citing fields including physics, biotechnology, chemistry and materials science.
Speaking Monday at the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference in Singapore, Chew said AI’s near-term impact may be overestimated while its longer-term potential is underestimated. He pointed to rapid progress in scientific research and said TikTok parent ByteDance is exploring collaborations with scientists. ByteDance’s Seed research team unveiled Protenix-v2, a model for predicting and designing biomolecular structures, in April.
Chew also called for stronger safeguards as AI systems become more capable and autonomous. He warned that users may grant AI agents permissions without fully understanding them, including access to credit cards, and said companies must respond to the falling cost of producing spam and other security threats.
Employees should also be trained not to share trade secrets or privileged legal information with public chatbots, Chew said. He encouraged people to gain hands-on experience with AI so they can better understand its capabilities and limits.
Chew said there is a “non-zero chance” that AI could become superior to humans in some areas, raising questions about how advanced systems can be aligned with human ethical boundaries.
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Written from 8 articles, 7 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 282 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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