“Today is the summer solstice, the glorious summer has officially begun. We gather to congratulate more than 3,000 students who have completed their university degrees and are preparing to embark on a new journey in life,” Professor Li Luming began his speech.
In his speech titled “Understanding the past, opening a new journey”, Professor Ly recounted the nearly 70-year journey of AI, from the years of abandonment to today’s glorious moment. “AI is not something that suddenly appeared overnight but is the result of nearly 70 years of continuous development, the crystallization of the intelligence and dedication of many generations.
I hope you can realize: We must grasp the laws of innovation, be sensitive to seize creative opportunities and proactively nurture innovative qualities," he said.

He told the story of Geoffrey Hinton - the father of deep learning and the man who dared to go against the flow, persevering with neural networks for decades in isolation and eventually creating a technological revolution that changed the world . Hinton was once considered a visionary but he never gave up.
In 2006, he introduced a deep learning model - the origin of ChatGPT, AlphaFold, Copilot that students are using every day today.
“The road to innovation is not a smooth one, and pioneers often have to endure skepticism and loneliness. Only by maintaining a passion for the truth, courageously facing difficulties, and unyielding will can we reach the glorious peak,” Professor Ly advised.
"The easier technological power is, the more technological ethics need to be engraved in the heart"
Beyond personal inspiration, the principal of Asia’s most prestigious university emphasized: Behind the rise of artificial intelligence is an open, shared, and interdisciplinary academic spirit. From statistics that laid the foundation for machine learning, to neuroscience that illuminated neural network design, and behavioral psychology that paved the way for reinforcement learning, AI is the crystallization of intersection and resonance between many fields.

Professor Lee particularly emphasized the power of the liberal spirit in the global academic community. He cited the landmark moment in 2017, when eight scientists publicly announced the Transformer model - a seemingly purely technical design that inadvertently opened a new era of biological artificial intelligence.
“The announcement of Transformer has ignited a new wave of AI: from academic theory to practical applications, from small labs to large industries, from single models to global mega-models,” said the principal.
From that achievement, he called on students to expand their thinking, go beyond the limits of their majors, and proactively engage in multidisciplinary academic connections.
“Innovation today does not come from one person being smart, but from many people daring together. Go beyond your professional boundaries. Learn to think bigger than your field of study.”
According to Beijing Daily, one of the most touching parts of the speech was when Professor Li mentioned Academician Zhang Bo, who is known as the “father of Chinese AI”. In 1978, when the whole country did not know what AI was, Academician Zhang quietly entered a field that was considered “useless”. Nearly 50 years later, at the age of 90, he is still leading the Tsinghua AI Institute, still writing, teaching and inspiring.
“A breakthrough cannot be achieved overnight. It requires long-term and persistent research,” Principal Li led.
Despite his high hopes for AI, Professor Lee does not shy away from concerns. He likens technology to a double-edged sword, bringing benefits if used correctly and causing destruction if misdirected.
“Always remember the principle: Take people as the center, take goodness as the direction of technology, put ethics above technology. Be responsible actors. When technological power becomes easy to grasp, technological ethics need to be engraved in the heart,” emphasized the principal of Tsinghua.
Closing his speech, Professor Li hoped that every student would leave Tsinghua University with a spirit of innovation: “You are at your most beautiful age, take the initiative to grasp the AI era and new technologies, use the spirit of innovation to create the future, use the spirit of humanity to maintain direction, carry in your heart the love for your homeland, the will to serve the country, and contribute to making the country famous.”
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/phat-bieu-la-ve-nguoi-tien-phong-co-doc-cua-hieu-truong-dai-hoc-noi-tieng-2420616.html
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