AI & Society - Shaping a Responsible Future Conference (AIS25) successfully achieved: International renowned scholars discuss the development of AI

The first AI & Society - Shaping a Responsible Future Conference (AIS25) was held in Beijing Normal – Hong Kong Baptist University (BNBU) during June 28-29. Prof. Changfeng Chen from Tsinghua University and other renowned international scholars gave keynote speeches for the conference, while academics from various domestic and foreign universities presented their own research at the conference. The conference also involved BNBU faculty members, graduate students, and undergraduates from a variety of departments, including Communication, Business, Marketing, Mathematics, and Computer Science.


Dr. Jesse Owen Hearns-Branaman, the Head of the Department of Communication of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of BNBU, chaired the opening ceremony of the conference. Prof. Yu Huang, the Dean of the Graduate School of BNBU, gave the opening remark. Prof. Huang said that the responsible development of AI demands a genius interdisciplinary class operation. He believed that this conference was a critical space that encouraged researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and community members to dialogue with each other. On the platform of this conference, community members with diverse disciplinary backgrounds jointly exchanged the contributions of AI to the future society, which would be beneficial for the development of the entire society in the technological context.



Dr. Jesse Owen Hearns-Branaman, the Head of the Communication Department of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of BNBU, chaired the opening ceremony of the conference.



Prof. Yu Huang, the Dean of the Graduate School of BNBU, gave the opening remark


The conference chair, Dr. Zhixin Pu from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of BNBU, welcomed the attendees. She mentioned that in the upcoming agenda, the participants will dive into the critical societal impacts of artificial intelligence. She also strongly encouraged attendees to connect with peers. share their work and build new collaborations. “The true magic of a conference often happens in those informal conversations,” she said.



The conference chair, Dr. Zhixin Pu from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of BNBU, welcomed the attendees.


Special guests, Prof. Changfeng Chen from Tsinghua University, Prof. Bu Zhong from Hong Kong Baptist University, and Dr. Jie Pang from Peking University, gave their keynote speeches at the conference.


Prof. Changfeng Chen discussed the topic of “When Ethics Fall Behind: Culture-Lag and the Use of GenAI in Research.” She presented several cases where editors found overuses of AI during the review process of academic papers and imposed penalties on the authors, such as citing false documents compiled by AI. She explained the typical phenomena of AI abuse in academic scenarios, which reflects the impact of AI on the ethics of academic research and the inadequacy of the existing accountability system. In the future, people should clearly define the boundaries of AI usage in academic research, enhance the AI usage and discrimination literacy of researchers, balance “efficiency” and “academic integrity”, and maintain a good academic ecosystem.



Prof. Changfeng Chen discussed the topic of “When Ethics Fall Behind: Culture-Lag and the Use of GenAI in Research” in the keynote speech.


Prof. Bu Zhong shared his thoughts about “AI and the New Global Digital Order” during his speech. He noted that the social changes resulting from technological development are evident in various aspects, including AI's role in decision-making assistance and AI robots replacing humans in high-risk fields like the military. On the one hand, it reduced the risk of humans engaging in high-risk jobs; on the other hand, it also impacted the employment market and technological ethics, and may reshape the world order, that is, countries that have top-notch technologies have higher status in international society. Prof. Zhong believes that human-AI interaction is the key to addressing this situation. In education, the cultivation of computer science and critical thinking should be strengthened to adapt to the technological era and build a new digital social order.


Prof. Bu Zhong shared his thoughts about “AI and the New Global Digital Order” during the keynote speech.


Dr. Jie Pang discussed the “Decoding Memes via LLMs: Paradigm and Application” with specific cases of AI cultural products. Currently, in places like Shandong, Henan, and Anhui, they have begun to generate cultural models by decoding cultural sources, collecting and compiling data, and combining multimedia technology to showcase the local culture. This indeed helps with the digitization of cultural heritage. Still, issues such as improper understanding of cultural semantics by AI and inconsistent AI aesthetic standards also pose challenges to the projects. This not only reflects the necessity of training models through human-AI collaboration, but also prompts consideration of the balance between technology and humanity. Dr. Pang believes that in such projects, the humanistic paradigm in human society is more worthy of attention than the algorithms of AI models. Technology should not be more critical than humanistic values, and people should maintain the “digital cultural subjectivity” of local culture.



Dr. Jie Pang discussed the “Decoding Memes via LLMs: Paradigm and Application” in the keynote speech.


Following the keynote speeches, the conference set up roundtable discussion sessions where the participants engaged in discussions with the guests on the content of their speeches and their research fields, and had in-depth exchanges on topics such as AI fact-checking technology, AI literacy, and higher education in universities.


The participants asked the guests questions.


During the one-and-a-half-day conference period, nearly 90 scholars shared their cutting-edge research results. They discussed subtopics including “Applied AI: Innovations for Society,” “AI in Education: Shaping Future Learning and Creativity,” “Human-AI Dynamics: Trust, Bias, and Societal Impact,” and “AI, Perception, and Trust: Navigating Human-Machine Interactions.”


Participants gave presentations about their research during the conference and engaged in discussions with the audience.


Dr. Zhixin Pu, the conference chair, held the closing ceremony. Prof. Tze-Ki Hon, the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at BNBU, delivered the closing remark and presented commemorative certificates to the guests and the award-winning researchers.


Dr. Jesse Owen Hearns-Branaman, the Head of the Communication Department, delivered a speech at the closing ceremony.


Prof. Tze-Ki Hon, the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at BNBU, delivered the closing remark.


Prof. Tze-Ki Hon and Dr. Jesse Owen Hearns-Branaman presented souvenirs to the guests.


Dr. Jesse Owen Hearns-Branaman presented certificates to the award-winning researchers.


Dr. Zhixin Pu, the conference chair, expressed gratitude to the guests and all the attendees for their participation.


Reporter: ZHOU Yujiazi (Jessie)

Photo: LUO Kaining (Kehlani), ZHOU Yujiazi (Jessie)

Review: Zhixin Pu, Jesse Owen Hearns-Branaman


Last Updated:Aug 22, 2025