Science & Tech · AI · 1 hr ago
TikTok CEO predicts AI-driven scientific breakthroughs within three years
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said at a conference in Singapore that AI could help produce major scientific breakthroughs within two to three years.
He named physics, biotechnology, chemistry and materials science as fields where progress could come.
ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is expanding its AI research beyond consumer products and has developed a model for predicting and designing biomolecular structures.
Chew said AI could help scientists make progress, including in areas such as drug discovery.
He also warned that powerful AI systems need to be aligned with human values and protected against cybersecurity risks.
ByteDance is exploring ways to collaborate with scientists, but Chew did not give a timetable for specific breakthroughs.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said AI could drive major scientific breakthroughs within the next two to three years.
He named physics, biotechnology, chemistry and materials science as fields where breakthroughs could occur.
Chew said AI’s growing capabilities raise questions about aligning models with human values and managing cybersecurity risks.
His comments came as ByteDance expands AI research and explores collaboration with scientists.
- Who
- TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
- What
- He predicted AI could drive major scientific breakthroughs within two to three years.
- When
- Monday, at the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference.
- Where
- Singapore.
- Why
- Chew said AI progress, particularly in science, is accelerating and could have significant long-term potential.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
In the next two to three years, we're going to have a real scientific breakthrough: physics, biotech, chemistry, material science, because of AI. It's very, very, very possible.
I think in the short term we are probably overestimating it, but in the long term we are probably underestimating it.
I think the cybersecurity risks are quite big
ByteDance's Seed research team unveiled Protenix-v2, an AI model for biomolecular structure prediction and design.
The U.S. government, Meta and Google announced participation in a $1.8 billion initiative to develop AI models that predict how cells behave.
Chew spoke at the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference in Singapore and predicted scientific breakthroughs from AI within two to three years.
- Speaker
- Shou Zi Chew, TikTok CEO
- Forecast
- Major scientific breakthroughs within two to three years
- Fields cited
- Physics, biotechnology, chemistry and materials science
- Conference
- DBS Asia Future Forward Conference, Singapore
- ByteDance model
- Protenix-v2, for biomolecular structure prediction and design
- Initiative
- $1.8 billion effort involving the U.S. government, Meta and Google
Sources
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