Turing Awardee Robert Tarjan: Why AI needs human curiosity beyond algorithms

By CGTN

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Algorithms power the very core of top applications today, driving search engines, social media and AI large language models. Perhaps no one knows this better than Professor Robert Tarjan, the 1986 Turing Award winner, for the design and analysis of algorithms and data structures. He's in Beijing for the 2026 International Congress of Basic Science. In our one-on-one conversation, he talks about how quite simple AI algorithms are, but very capable of doing large scale gathering of data and compressing it into something humans can use. So, beyond today's algorithms, he says smart AI needs the intrinsic human curiosity to explore and investigate the world. 00:00 - Intro 00:47 - Why curiosity-driven research matters 02:58 - Redesign tech so people have time for what they love 05:20 - Background in mathematics with computer science 06:44 - Why are algorithms 'dirty' 09:40 - Need for AI with motivation, human curiosity 13:24 - Ways to fix AI system's security vulnerabilities 16:27 -

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