Latest news with #TsinghuaUniversity
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Shengjia Zhao education qualifications: How a Stanford PhD behind ChatGPT is now leading Meta's superintelligence lab
In 2014, a young student from China walked the sprawling campus of Rice University in Texas, not knowing that a decade later, he would be at the center of one of the most powerful technologies of our time. Shengjia Zhao, then just an exchange student from Tsinghua University, was curious, quiet, and already asking the kinds of questions that don't come with simple answers. Ten years on, he's not just part of the conversation. He's leading it. This July, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Zhao's appointment as Chief Scientist of Meta's Superintelligence Lab, a bold new initiative focused on building Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). But Zhao's arrival at this moment wasn't overnight. It was the result of a carefully built academic journey, across continents, across institutions, and across frontiers of knowledge. This is the story of how education powered the rise of the mind behind ChatGPT. The spark at Tsinghua Zhao's story begins at Tsinghua University, often considered China's most prestigious engineering school. It's a place where academic rigor isn't just expected: it's the baseline. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like New Retirement Villages Near Hanoi Senior Living | Search Ads Undo There, Zhao stood out for more than just his grades. Professors recall a student who wasn't content with solving problems; he wanted to know why the problems existed in the first place. He dove into computer science with the intensity of someone who knew the world was on the cusp of something transformative. By the time he graduated in 2016, Zhao had already taken his first step onto the global stage, with an eye toward deeper learning and wider impact. A semester that shifted perspective In 2014, while still a Tsinghua undergraduate, Zhao crossed the Pacific for a semester at Rice University in Houston. It was his first sustained experience outside China, and it would leave a lasting mark. At Rice, Zhao saw a different approach to problem-solving. Lectures often spilled into lab sessions and debates; ideas were tested, challenged, and stretched. More importantly, he learned how to collaborate across cultures, disciplines, and perspectives. That semester wasn't just about coursework, it was a preview of the kind of collaborative, global science that AI research would demand in the years ahead. The Stanford years: Where ideas became breakthroughs When Zhao joined Stanford University's PhD program in Computer Science in 2016, he entered the heart of Silicon Valley's AI revolution. But unlike those chasing start-up fame or quick funding, Zhao stayed close to what he loved: deep research. Over the next six years, he immersed himself in topics that would later become the DNA of generative AI, large-scale model training, reinforcement learning, and multi-modal systems. He was fascinated by how machines could not only process language but learn from it, reason through it, and eventually, converse like humans. He earned his PhD in 2022, not with fanfare, but with the quiet confidence of someone ready to build the next wave of intelligent systems. ChatGPT and the OpenAI chapter Soon after Stanford, Zhao joined OpenAI, the research company behind ChatGPT. While much of the public focus fell on OpenAI's leadership, within the labs, Zhao was one of the lead architects behind the scenes. He contributed directly to the creation of GPT-4, and later, more agile versions like GPT-4.1 and o3. His expertise helped shape how these models learned from human feedback, processed ambiguity, and responded with nuance. If you've ever had a surprisingly thoughtful or helpful interaction with ChatGPT, you've likely experienced the ripple effects of Zhao's work. Colleagues described him as someone who rarely spoke in absolutes but never left a problem half-solved. A new mission at Meta In July 2025, Zhao made headlines again, but this time, not for the model he built, but for the one he would lead. Meta's Superintelligence Lab, announced by Zuckerberg, aims to push beyond current AI into the realm of Artificial General Intelligence, AI that can think, adapt, and reason across domains like a human. And at the helm of this scientific vision? Shengjia Zhao. He now works closely with Alexandr Wang, Meta's Chief AI Officer and founder of Scale AI. Together, they're assembling a world-class team of researchers to reimagine what AI can be: not just as a product, but as a form of intelligence. Zhao's appointment wasn't just about talent. It was about trust. Meta, like other tech giants, understands that the future of AI won't be decided by the loudest voice in the room, but by the one who understands how to listen, learn, and lead. What students can take away Zhao's story is more than a career path, it's a blueprint. He didn't rush success. He built it slowly, layer by layer, across some of the world's most rigorous classrooms and labs. From Tsinghua's discipline, to Rice's openness, to Stanford's depth, Zhao's academic journey reflects a mindset that values learning as the engine of innovation. TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here . Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
Calgary Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
US, China negotiators meet in Stockholm to extend trade truce
Article content While China has denied its responsibility for the flow of the deadly drug, last month it tightened controls over two chemicals that can be used to make the opioid. Earlier this month, Trump praised those moves. 'China has been helping out,' he told reporters. 'We're talking to them and they're making big steps.' Article content For the US, the recent Chinese actions aren't enough, as such moves were required to comply with United Nations measures, according to a person familiar with the trade talks. Chances of reducing the 20% tariff in this round of talks are very slim, added the person who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters, while noting everything could change on Trump's whim. Article content China would be willing to cooperate more on fentanyl, said Sun Chenghao, a professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing. But the US would have to remove the related tariffs, stop blaming Beijing for what it sees as a US domestic problem and provide concrete evidence of crimes, he said. Article content Article content The US business community remains hopeful for progress, with Sean Stein, president of the US-China Business Council, telling Bloomberg TV that movement on fentanyl presents the 'biggest opportunity' in talks. Article content 'That then lowers tariffs on the US side, which then opens the door for China to lower tariffs that lets us sell agriculture, lets us sell airplanes, lets us sell automobiles, that let's us sell energy,' he said. Article content Oil Purchases Article content In his comments announcing the talks, Bessent indicated negotiations can now take on a broader array of topics, potentially including Beijing's continued purchases of sanctioned oil from Russia and Iran. Article content Chinese state media has already pushed back against that idea. 'China won't play along' with such attempts to use China to kill Russia's economy, Lv Xiang, a US expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences last week told the state-run tabloid Global Times. Article content Article content By contrast, China's imports of three major energy products from the US hit almost zero in June, marking the first time in almost three years the Asian nation didn't import any crude oil from its top rival. Deliveries of American crude oil, liquefied natural gas and coal have been subject to Chinese tariffs of 10% to 15% since February. Article content Xi's government has begun rolling back some of its other retaliatory measures since the two sides met last month in London. Crucially, Beijing has boosted shipments of rare earth magnets, while the US relaxed restrictions on sales of less-advanced semiconductors to China. Article content In another potential goodwill gesture, as the Sweden talks were announced this month, China revealed it had suspended an antitrust investigation into the local unit of US chemical manufacturer DuPont de Nemours Inc.
Business Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Malaysia's banks missed the digital moment, and now AI is forcing a reckoning, says veteran banker
[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia missed a crucial opportunity between 2018 and the Covid-19 pandemic to modernise its banking sector and become a regional digital leader. As that window closed, industry players now face greater challenges to achieve growth, said veteran banker Andrew Sheng. 'Between 2018 and the pandemic, that was the time for a huge transformation online. Especially during pandemic, everyone moves online – work, shopping and finance. That was when banks needed to go all in on digital, but we missed it,' the 79-year-old former central banker and currently an adjunct professor at the University of Malaya and Tsinghua University told The Business Times. He noted that while other markets were embracing rapid technological upgrades, driven by competition, user expectations and regulatory shifts, many Malaysian banks remained conservative, slow-moving, and hesitant to innovate. 'That was the time for a huge transformation online. But the digital offerings of Malaysian banks, in my view, are slightly dated,' he said. Sheng previously served as chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong from 1998 to 2005, and held roles as a central banker with both the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Bank Negara Malaysia. Sheng also acted as chief adviser to the China Banking Regulatory Commission. In recognition of the impact he made, Time magazine included him among the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up Sheng noted that some of the country's largest banks had previously shown ambition beyond national borders, particularly CIMB and Maybank with their regional expansion strategies. But even those forward-looking moves lost momentum in recent years. 'Since 2018, they have become more cautious… And then came the pandemic, when digital transformation should have been accelerated. But I don't see agentic offerings. My bank knows my spending patterns, but it's not giving me tailored investment advice or proactive digital tools,' he added. The shortcomings go beyond the lack of advanced digital products. Sheng points to fundamental failures in basic customer service – failures that expose the sector's resistance to modernisation. 'Some of the banks are still in this old-fashioned call centre model,' he said. 'When you call them in the middle of the night, you either get somebody in Bangladesh or the service just isn't available.' Even basic digital tools such as chatbots, which are widely deployed across South-east Asia, remain underused or poorly implemented in Malaysia. He described this as a systemic issue – one rooted not in technology, but in culture and governance. 'Getting a bank to move digitally when most of the staff are less digitally oriented is a major management challenge. The boards and CEOs need to be totally digitally focused. But most are made up of former bankers or businesspeople. They see the threat, but they don't internalise it. 'TechFin' is eating the bankers' lunch Former central banker Andrew Sheng said: 'Platforms using crypto, blockchain, and decentralised finance are eating the banks' lunch. And that trend is only going to accelerate.' PHOTO: ANDREW SHENG While Malaysian banks stagnated, technology platforms surged ahead, not just supporting finance, but redefining it, and Sheng believes the real disruption isn't traditional fintech, where banks adopt tech tools, but what he calls 'TechFin' – where tech companies disrupt finance from the outside. 'Since Covid, the dominant issue is not fintech – it's the financialisation of technology. It's TechFin rather than FinTech. The tech platforms overwhelm the finance industry,' he explained. The competitive imbalance is stark, with tech companies having better software, more data, less regulation, and far more agility than traditional banks. Furthermore, they do not carry much debts. Banks, on the other hand, are highly leveraged, highly regulated, and can't seem to compete, he said, noting that such a scenario isn't theoretical. Across Asia, consumers now use mobile-based QR code systems, which are operated by tech firms, not banks – to transact in real time, said Sheng, adding that the beneficiaries aren't the banks, but e-wallet providers such as Alipay, WeChat Pay, or even small fintech startups. This disruption extends far beyond payments. Sheng warns that even core financial activities, lending, wealth management, insurance, are being unbundled and digitalised by faster, leaner players. 'Platforms using crypto, blockchain, and decentralised finance are eating the banks' lunch. And that trend is only going to accelerate,' said Sheng, who is set to deliver the keynote address at MyFintech Week, Malaysia's flagship fintech event, scheduled for early August. Tokenisation is the next frontier With a population of just 33 million, Malaysia lacks the market size to build scale slowly. PHOTO: AFP Compounding the threat is the rapid evolution of tokenised digital assets, which Sheng believes is a development that will radically transform capital markets and trade. Yet again, Malaysia is playing catch-up. 'Practically anything can be tokenised today… Liabilities, assets, and even a scribble by the next Picasso can be turned into a digital asset and sold,' he said. Tokenisation, enabled by blockchain and decentralised infrastructure, allows assets to be divided, digitalised, and traded globally in real time. Gold, carbon credits, and even commodities such as palm oil are now being explored as tokenised products. 'If palm oil could be tokenised and made available to someone like me to buy a ton because I like the weather, why not?' Sheng said. 'But the reality is, I can't do it right now in Malaysia. Someone else will.' And that's the real danger. He noted that if Malaysia does not act, others will dominate the digital asset space, and consequently, Malaysian capital, investors, and talent will go elsewhere. 'If you're not going to do it, someone else will… The money and the flows will go elsewhere,' he added. With a population of just 33 million, Malaysia lacks the market size to build scale slowly. Countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines, with over 100 million people each, are better positioned to develop digital ecosystems quickly and able to attract regional liquidity. Power shift to asset managers Non-bank players such as Citadel and Jane Street, which have grown into trading behemoths that rival conventional banks in volume and influence. PHOTO: REUTERS Beyond Malaysia and South-east Asia, Sheng observed that the global financial system is undergoing a quiet but profound power shift, away from conventional banks and towards dominant asset managers and trading platforms. 'Technology tends to concentrate. The top five banks in any country dominate most of the banking business. But the top five asset managers, not necessarily banks, are now just as powerful, if not more,' he said. He noted that while large banking institutions such as JPMorgan and UBS remain influential, their growing strength lies less in traditional lending and more in their roles as global asset managers and market traders. He cited UBS' increasing weight in asset management and JPMorgan's dominance across the dollar market, investment banking, and trading. Sheng also highlighted the rise of non-bank players such as Citadel and Jane Street, which have grown into trading behemoths that rival conventional banks in volume and influence. He noted that such a trend is being accelerated by digitalisation and scale. Technology amplifies the advantages of incumbents with deep data, large capital bases, and global reach, pushing smaller or slower institutions further to the margins. At the same time, he warned, banks in emerging markets such as Malaysia are falling behind in digital transformation, leaving them vulnerable. 'Every bank needs to ask: how do we cut costs, improve productivity, manage risk, and create new value?' Sheng said. 'Those who don't ask that question now may not be around to answer it later.'
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Chinese military blacklists aerospace institute over bid rigging
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has barred a Chinese aerospace institute from bidding on tenders amid claims of bid rigging – the latest suspension in a year-long crackdown on military suppliers. In a notice on Thursday, the PLA's procurement oversight department said the Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was suspended from taking part in military procurement for goods, projects, and services. The notice said the suspension was a penalty for bid rigging and collusion, but did not say how long the ban would last. The institute was also put on a military procurement suspension list in January, disqualifying its joint bid with Tsinghua University for a 150 million yuan (US$21 million) project. Details of the projects were classified but other bidders included the CAS Shanghai Advanced Research Institute and China Electronics System Engineering Company, suggesting the tender was for communications infrastructure. The aerospace institute was formed in 2019 through a merger of CAS institutes specialising in electronics, remote sensing and optoelectronics. It carries out core research in communication and information processing, aircraft design, remote sensing radar systems and electronic countermeasure systems – areas closely aligned with military needs.
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
60 get PSC scholarships, including one bound for China's Tsinghua University
SINGAPORE – While most Public Service Commission (PSC) scholarship holders still favour US or British universities, 19-year-old Sarah Tan Si Yu set her sights on Beijing's Tsinghua University, keen to challenge herself on a path less travelled. The Raffles Institution alumna has picked its Global Talents in Science and Engineering Programme, which will get its first intake in 2025. The English-taught interdisciplinary engineering programme will expose students to multiple fields, including architecture, civil engineering and mechanical engineering. Ms Tan's choice was made in recognition of the fact that China is quickly emerging as a strong force in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) arena. 'I really want to understand their technological landscape – what their priorities are, what their capabilities are, what they are focusing on – and how Singapore can value-add, or how I can bring these back into our public service so I can value-add here,' she said. Ms Tan is among 2025 's 60 PSC scholarship holders who attended an awards ceremony at InterContinental Singapore on July 25. The recipients will serve a bond of four to six years in the public service after they complete their studies. Of the 60, 52 are headed overseas – 28 to Britain, 19 to the US, and five to varsities outside the US or Britain, namely in China, Hong Kong, Germany and France. Four are mid-term university students. In 2024, eight of the 54 PSC scholarship recipients were bound for varsities outside the US or Britain. Three headed to Japan, three to France and two to Germany – while 31 gunned for British or American schools. Presenting the awards, Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing said the public service sends its scholarship holders overseas not for academic rigour or content – given that universities here are already among the best in the world – but for them to appreciate the diversity and complexity of the world. 'You will build the ties that will perhaps help us one day, that will perhaps one day come in useful for us to work with others,' said Mr Chan, who is also Minister-in-charge of the Public Service. 'You will also gather fresh perspectives that challenge our own assumptions, keep ourselves on our toes, and always remind ourselves that (Singapore's) last 60 years (of existence) – if we are not careful – can easily be an aberration in the history of mankind.' Mr Chan urged the recipients to 'dig deep' in asking themselves how they can work to serve Singapore and ensure that it can be in a better place in 40 years when it hits the SG100 milestone. Speaking at the event, PSC chairman Lee Tzu Yang said 2025's recipients come from a wide range of backgrounds, and will pursue studies in different environments. 'This reflects the diversity of strengths that we seek in our public service,' he added. He noted that the 2025 cohort marks the highest percentage of recipients bound for overseas studies in recent years, at 87 per cent. Mr Lee said the range of institutions and disciplines – from computational analysis and public policy at the University of Chicago, to physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and engineering at Tsinghua University – reflects the complexity of the world today. Raffles Institution alumnus Arman Ibrahim Mustaffa, 18, is among three recipients of the PSC Sustainability Scholarships – introduced in 2023 to help Singapore cope with climate change. Having developed a keen interest in city planning from collecting model trains as a child, he will be reading geography at University College London. He hopes to work in the National Climate Change Secretariat in the Prime Minister's Office to help steer the country's climate trajectory. Articulating his belief that good city planning minimises the impact on natural environments and teaches people living in these environments about the importance of sustainability, he said: 'I really want to help cultivate a culture of sustainability, not just within the public service, but also beyond that, among the greater community.' As for Ms Tan, she said she enjoyed her recent four-month stint as an AI governance and safety intern at the Infocomm Media Development Authority, where she was exposed to policymaking. She hopes to return to work in similar scopes that allow her to chart the future of technology. 'My intention with this (Tsinghua) degree is to explore more first of the other types of technology out there as I think I shouldn't just focus on AI too early and miss out on the other opportunities,' she added.
