Exceptional Scientific Seminar – Eric Xing (MBZUAI), July 8, 2025
Exceptional Seminar with Prof. Eric Xing at École polytechnique
Hi! PARIS is honored to welcome Professor Eric Xing, President of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, for an exceptional scientific seminar on July 8, 2025, at École Polytechnique. As one of the leading figures in AI and machine learning, Prof. Xing will present his latest work on general and purposeful reasoning systems beyond traditional language models. This event is part of our commitment to fostering high-level scientific exchange and advancing cutting-edge AI research.
Abstract
The success of large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s GPTs has amazed the world with their extraordinary performance in tasks such as standardized tests, advanced mathematical reasoning, encyclopedic knowledge retrieval, and human-like language generation. However, these models fall short when it comes to embodied reasoning, physical and social understanding, and real-world strategic planning.
In this seminar, Prof. Xing will introduce “PAN”, a novel architecture designed for general and purposeful reasoning in complex, real-world environments. PAN combines a new World Model for steerable simulations of potential outcomes and a dynamic Agent Model capable of planning, learning, and adapting to achieve goals across diverse contexts.
He will contrast this approach with current architectures, addressing common misconceptions around agent and world models, and discuss choices of data, representations, and training strategies. The talk will also feature theoretical insights and a preview of an upcoming model release. Prof. Xing will conclude with a broader reflection on concepts such as agency and artificial general intelligence (AGI), informed by a renewed philosophical lens.
About the Speaker
Professor Eric Xing is the President of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and a Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. His research spans machine learning, large-scale distributed computing, and statistical modeling, with recent focus on foundational models in biology and AI.
He has received multiple prestigious awards, including the NSF CAREER Award, the Sloan Fellowship, and best paper awards at leading conferences like ACL, ISMB, NeurIPS, and OSDI. He is a Fellow of the AAAI, ACM, ASA, IEEE, and IMS, and has served on editorial boards for top journals in the field.