FST Hosts Renowned Scholar to Discuss Future of Language Models and AI

The Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) at the University of Macau (UM) successfully held its latest “FST Distinguished Seminar Series” on March 13, featuring internationally acclaimed scholar Prof. Wenfei Fan. Prof. Fan serves as the Chair of Web Data Management at the University of Edinburgh, UK, and Chief Scientist at the Shenzhen Institute of Computing Science. The seminar attracted nearly 100 students and faculty members from the Department of Computer and Information Science and The State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smart City, reflecting broad interdisciplinary interest in next-generation artificial intelligence technologies.

As part of UM’s 45th Anniversary celebrations and the FST’s “1 to 3 and Beyond” commemorative series, Prof. Fan delivered a talk titled “Beyond LLMs: A Multi-Paradigm AI Approach.” He focused on core challenges facing Large Language Models (LLMs) in practical applications—such as hallucinations, lack of interpretability, and over-reliance on training data—and introduced his pioneering “Multi-Paradigm AI Framework.” This approach integrates machine learning with logical reasoning to significantly enhance system reliability, transparency, and controllability. Through vivid case studies, Prof. Fan demonstrated how this method applies to industrial manufacturing, cybersecurity, drug discovery, intelligent recommendation systems, and financial risk control, proving that hybrid AI models can achieve low-cost, high-accuracy, and interpretable decision-making mechanisms.

Prof. Fan, a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), and a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was hosted by Prof. Cheng-Zhong Xu, Dean of FST. The Q&A session was lively, with students raising in-depth questions regarding system scalability, ethical implications, and pathways for enterprise integration. Prof. Fan’s clear logic and accessible language effectively translated complex AI theories into understandable concepts, earning warm responses from the audience.

This event underscores the FST’s ongoing commitment to promoting international academic exchange and cultivating students’ comprehensive capabilities in AI ethics, system design, and cross-disciplinary application. It aims to nurture tech professionals with global perspectives and critical thinking skills for Macao and the Greater Bay Area.