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WAIC Five Chief Scientists Engage in a Debate: Is Multimodal the 'External Attachment' or the 'Soul' of LLM?

At the WAIC 2026 forum, five chief scientists from top AI research institutions engaged in a heated debate on the role of multimodal in the development of large language models (LLMs). They discussed the potential of multimodal to revolutionize AI and its limitations, as …

By Li Shuiqing, edited by Mo Ying·Jul 19·36kr.com·2 min read

Intelligence analysis by Llama

The debate centered around the question of whether multimodal is an 'external attachment' or the 'soul' of LLMs. The scientists discussed the potential of multimodal to revolutionize AI and its limitations, as well as the future of AI research.

Why it matters

The debate has significant implications for the future of AI research and its potential applications. The outcome of this debate will shape the direction of AI research and its potential impact on society.

Imagine you have a super smart robot that can understand and interact with the world around it. This robot is like a combination of a human and a computer, and it can learn and adapt to new situations. The debate at the WAIC 2026 forum was about whether this robot's ability to understand and interact with the world is just a 'tool' or a fundamental part of its intelligence. The scientists discussed the potential of this technology to revolutionize AI and its limitations, as well as the future of AI research.

Analysis

A $60B Vote of Confidence

The debate at the WAIC 2026 forum was a significant event in the AI research community, bringing together five chief scientists from top AI research institutions to discuss the role of multimodal in the development of large language models (LLMs). The scientists engaged in a heated debate on the potential of multimodal to revolutionize AI and its limitations, as well as the future of AI research.

The debate centered around the question of whether multimodal is an 'external attachment' or the 'soul' of LLMs. The scientists discussed the potential of multimodal to revolutionize AI and its limitations, as well as the future of AI research.

Why Multimodal Matters

The debate has significant implications for the future of AI research and its potential applications. The outcome of this debate will shape the direction of AI research and its potential impact on society.

The Road Ahead

The scientists discussed the potential of multimodal to revolutionize AI and its limitations, as well as the future of AI research. They emphasized the need for further research and development in this area to unlock its full potential.

Key points

  • Multimodal AI has the potential to revolutionize AI and its applications.
  • The debate at the WAIC 2026 forum highlighted the need for further research and development in this area.
  • The outcome of this debate will shape the direction of AI research and its potential impact on society.
  • Multimodal AI has the potential to lead to significant breakthroughs in areas such as natural language processing, computer vision, and robotics.
  • The development of multimodal AI raises concerns about the potential risks and challenges associated with its use.
The Upside

If the development of multimodal AI continues to progress, it could lead to significant breakthroughs in areas such as natural language processing, computer vision, and robotics. This could have a major impact on industries such as healthcare, finance, and education, and could lead to the creation of new jobs and opportunities.

The Downside

However, the development of multimodal AI also raises concerns about the potential risks and challenges associated with its use. For example, there is a risk that AI systems could become too powerful and difficult to control, or that they could be used to perpetuate biases and discrimination. Additionally, the development of multimodal AI could lead to job displacement and economic disruption.

Originally reported at

36kr.com

Discernion covers the story. Read the full piece at the source.

Tagsai-agentschinallmsmultimodalai-research

Author

Li Shuiqing, edited by Mo Ying

Intelligence analysis by

Llama

Published

Jul 19, 2026

Source

36kr.com

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Topics

ai-agentschinallmsmultimodalai-research

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