Introduction

Recent progress in Generative AI, notably the Large Language Models, has made significant impact on many relevant research communities, notably, Natural Language Processing, Information Retrieval, Computer Vision, Machine Learning, and AI in general, as is evident from the rapid increase of research papers on LLMs in all those communities in recent years. The disruptive impact raises many new pressing questions that the research communities need to address:

• To what extent can/will LLMs replace more “traditional” approaches in all the areas/subareas of AI and their applications?
• Do we anticipate a convergence of AI approaches to a unified foundation or framework (eventually)?
• Given the emergence of interdisciplinary topics such as multimodality and intelligent agents, which are now being studied in multiple communities, is the boundary between different communities still clear or necessary?
• Should the structure of our research communities and education curricula be re-examined to better align with the recent development and future trends of Generative AI?

These questions are broadly relevant to many research communities and thus should be discussed by involving experts from all those related research communities. To this end, we organize this visionary symposium to bring together a diverse group of distinguished experts in the highly relevant research communities that are likely impacted most by the recent progress in Generative AI to analyze and understand the landscape of future research topics in Generative AI by collectively 1) assessing the impact of Generative AI on the research problems, new opportunities, and future trajectory of research in those affected research communities, 2) identifying major future interdisciplinary research topics that would benefit from collaboration between multiple research communities, and 3) examining the current boundaries between the existing research communities to assess their alignment with the anticipated future landscape of (interdsiciplinary) research topics in Generative AI.

Target

The two-day symposium will feature a series of lightning talks, panel discussions, and working group discussions, designed to foster in-depth multi-faceted dialogue and networking among pioneers in the field. The symposium aims to culminate in the production of a forward-looking white paper co-authored by the symposium participants that will:

• Outline Future Research Directions: Provide a roadmap of the emerging research opportunities and challenges, especially interdisciplinary ones, in Generative AI, which will be useful for guiding any revisions to the Call for Papers of the major conferences in multiple relevant research communities to better align with Generative AI as well as suggesting new opportunities of interdisciplinary workshops that may be co-located with conferences in different communities..
• Educational Benchmarks: Recommend educational strategies and frameworks to prepare students and professionals for advanced AI research and applications in the era of Generative AI, which will be useful for guiding any revisions to the curriculum design in the related areas/subareas of AI.
• Inspire Global AI Community: Inspire Global AI Community: Offer insights and recommendations to inspire and guide the global AI community towards sustainable, ethical, and collaborative innovation via strategic and prioritized resource allocations to accelerate AI research and applications globally.

Location

The symposium venue is in the Tsinghua Southeast Asia Center (TSEA) in Denpasar and the accommodation is at Sanur Beach Bali Hotel. Denpasar is a gateway to the rich cultural tapestry and breathtaking natural beauty of Bali and accessible from major cities around the world with an international airport. By combining professional enrichment with personal enjoyment, the Tsinghua Southeast Asia Center in Denpasar not only serves as a venue but also as a holistic experience that makes our symposium both intellectually stimulating and immensely enjoyable.The detailed agenda and additional information will be provided upon your acceptance of this invitation.

I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport is 11.4 kilometers away from TSEA and 13.1 kilometers from the hotel. It has direct flights to several major hubs in Asia, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

You can find Indonesia's VISA requirements for different nationalities here.

Schedule

We expect our participants to arrive at the hotel on November 23rd; and on the same day, we will have our welcome reception in the evening. On the 24th, we will spend the whole day at TSEA, with meals served on site. On the 25th, we will spend the whole morning to wrap up the workshop and conclude our disucssions at 1pm. For participants whose schedule allows, we will provide a short excursion on the Denpasar island after lunch.

We provide local transportation from the airport to the hotel on the 23rd, and between the hotel and TSEA on the 24th, and from TSEA and to the airport on the 25th.

The more detailed schedule is as follows:

Participants

Organizers

Hongning Wang [hw-ai@tsinghua.edu.cn] (Tsinghua University)
Qingyao Ai [aiqy@tsinghua.edu.cn] (Tsinghua University)
Yiqun Liu [yiqunliu@tsinghua.edu.cn] (Tsinghua University)
Chengxiang Zhai [czhai@illinois.edu] (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)