AI to bring scientific breakthroughs in 2-3 years: TikTok CEO
What's the story
Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, has predicted that artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to significant scientific breakthroughs within the next three years. He made the prediction at the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference in Singapore on Monday. "In the next two to three years, we're going to have a real scientific breakthrough: physics, biotech, chemistry, material science, because of AI," Chew said.
Research expansion
ByteDance's AI research expansion
Chew's prediction comes as ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, expands its AI research beyond consumer applications.
In April, the company's Seed research team unveiled Protenix-v2, an AI model focused on biomolecular structure prediction and design.
This model could have potential applications in drug discovery.
Ethical considerations
Ethical concerns in AI advancements
Chew also addressed the ethical concerns surrounding increasingly powerful AI systems.
He asked, "If that happens, then you know the question would be: how do you align the models? How do you align the machines to be doing things that are obvious to us as human beings?"
This highlights a major challenge in ensuring these advanced technologies operate within human ethical boundaries.
Future impact
Chew's long-term vision for AI
Chew stressed the long-term implications of AI could be much bigger than what we think today.
"The trend is very very clear. It's that we are only at the beginning of what artificial intelligence can probably do," he said.
He also noted that while we may be overestimating its short-term impact, we're likely underestimating its long-term potential.
Investment surge
Tech giants' investments in AI-driven research
Chew's optimism comes as tech giants are investing billions into AI-powered scientific research.
Last week, the US government, along with Meta and Google announced their involvement in a $1.8 billion project to develop AI models that can predict cell behavior. This is aimed at speeding up biological research and drug discovery.
TikTok's parent company ByteDance is also working on its own AI models and exploring collaborations with scientists for research purposes.
Security concerns
Chew highlights cybersecurity risks
Chew also warned about the growing cybersecurity risks posed by AI's increasing capabilities.
He said, "I think the cybersecurity risks are quite big," warning that users may give their AI agents too much access without fully understanding the potential consequences.
He highlighted the dangers of allowing these systems to make purchases autonomously, which could lead to unintended transactions due to their eagerness to complete tasks.