Peking University, May 19, 2019: On May 16, the third WIC (World Intelligence Congress) was held in Tianjin. PKU President Hao Ping addressed a speech in the summit entitled “New Era of Intelligence: Development, Strategy, and Opportunity”. Hao Ping stressed the necessity of integrating technology and humanities, for the distinct humanistic spirit could differentiate human from artificial intelligence (AI), and appealed for increasing emphasis on the development of “Humanistic Intelligence”.

Reacting to Stephen Hawking’s remark on the impact of AI on human society that "comprehensive AI may mean the end of humanity", Hao Ping pointed out that we need not be so pessimistic, yet such a tone would remind people of regulating the unpredictable technical progress.

So far, Peking University has carried out cross-researches on AI and other disciplines like philosophy, ethics, law, language, and economic management. In 2017, Peking University Law School took the lead in setting up a legal AI research center in China. In 2018, the Department of Philosophy of Peking University completed the "China Robot Ethics Standardization Preview 2019”.

Hao Ping believed that it was necessary to promote the integration of production, education, and research, and to make new technologies such as AI better serve economic and social development. He said that in the AI era, the industries had been renovating at a rapid speed, and the increasing demand for the quantity and quality of professionals required universities to provide an intellectual backup with promptness and higher quality.

Hao Ping said, “Peking University has made full use of the advantages of multi-disciplinary and cross-border integration, done frontier scientific research and achieved great breakthroughs. The comprehensive universities have unique advantages in conducting AI researches.” He also pointed out the challenges that the new generation of AI technology would face and the necessity of grasping the principles and laws of AI technology. In the end, Hao Ping expressed his expectation for strengthening the integration of the human brain and computer science in the future.