9月5日，高斯奖得主、香港中文大学（深圳）数据科学学院尤里·涅斯捷罗夫教授（Yurii Nesterov）在香港中文大学（深圳）2026年入学典礼上作主题演讲。他以一个深刻的命题开启分享：在人工智能飞速发展的当下，当所有问题的答案触手可得，潜心求学、深耕钻研的意义何在？
他指出，收获有价值答案的前提是提出有价值的问题，而提出一个好问题，要比得到一个答案难得多。“提出优质问题的能力，源于思考、扎实学识、人生阅历以及想象力。更重要的是，你要有能力区分什么是重要的问题，什么不是。这正是人工智能时代，大学教育依然无可替代、不可或缺的核心原因。”
涅斯捷罗夫教授强调，人工智能时代的大学教育不再是单纯记忆既有知识，而是更加注重独立思考、自主探索、高效运用知识的核心能力。“未来时代，最核心的能力之一，是与人工智能高效协作。人工智能为我们提供巨大的算力支撑与海量的信息储备。而我们需要贡献的，是好奇心、判断力、创造力和目标。”
面对技术变革对就业市场的冲击，涅斯捷罗夫教授表示，历史经验表明技术革命会淘汰低技能职业，但同时催生更专业、更精细的全新职业。同学们真正应该关注的问题不是“人工智能是否会抢走我的工作”，而是“当人工智能成为全社会通用的工具，社会究竟需要什么样的人才”，从而致力于成为能够创造性、负责任地驾驭新技术的专业人才。
最后，涅斯捷罗夫教授勉励同学们在大学期间学会系统性地深度思考，学会交流思辨、碰撞思想，学会深耕钻研、持续求索，成为真正的专业者。他寄语道：“我们正迈入科技发展的全新阶段，而你们恰逢其时，在这个非凡的时代节点，开启人生的全新征程。这并不可怕，它带来的是机会，让你们在一个正在形成的世界里，成长为它所需要的专业人才。请记住：人工智能或许能给你答案，但教育教会你的，是洞察哪些问题值得提问。或许，这正是你们这一代最需要掌握的本领之一。”
Dear students, dear colleagues,
First of all, I would like to congratulate everyone
here on the beginning of the new academic year. It
begins at a very interesting moment.
We can see a rapid development of Artificial
Intelligence in many areas of human activity. Its power
is becoming evident to everybody, and it is already
changing the way we work, communicate, learn, and solve
problems.
There is something particularly remarkable about
modern AI. Because of its ability to communicate with us
in natural language, it can be used effectively even by
people with very little education. You can ask a
question, and you may immediately receive an answer. You
can ask for an explanation, a translation, a
calculation, a piece of computer code, or advice about a
difficult problem.
And this naturally leads to a new and rather
uncomfortable question: If all this knowledge is already
available to us through AI, do we still need to spend
many years for studying?
For me, the answer is definitely: Yes. And I would
like to explain why.
In the near future, Artificial Intelligence will
accumulate an enormous amount of human knowledge —
perhaps almost all the knowledge that can be represented
in the numerical form. This is an extraordinary
development. But there is one fundamental problem.
In order to get an interesting answer, you need to ask
an interesting question. And asking an interesting
question is much more difficult than getting an answer.
AI can give you information. But it cannot automatically
decide what is truly important for you. It cannot
completely replace your curiosity. It cannot decide what
you should be interested in. And it cannot take
responsibility for the goals you choose in your life.
To formulate a good question, you need intellectual
abilities. You need knowledge. You need experience. You
need imagination. And, very importantly, you need the
ability to distinguish an important problem from an
unimportant one. This is one of the main reasons why
education will remain extremely important in the age of
Artificial Intelligence.
Of course, the way we study at universities will
change. I believe this change will happen quite soon.
For many centuries, one of the main goals of education
was to memorize and master a large amount of existing
knowledge. Today, this is becoming less important. Why
memorize something if you can obtain the information
immediately?
But this does not mean that knowledge itself is
becoming unimportant. On the contrary. We need knowledge
in order to understand the answers we receive. We need
knowledge in order to recognize mistakes. We need
knowledge in order to connect ideas from different
fields. And, most importantly, we need knowledge in
order to formulate better questions.
So I think the goal of university education is
gradually changing. It is becoming less about memorizing
all available knowledge and more about learning how to
think, how to investigate, and how to use knowledge
effectively. In the future, one of the most important
skills will be the ability to cooperate efficiently with
Artificial Intelligence. But cooperation is possible
only when both sides have something to contribute. AI
will provide enormous computational and informational
power. You will have to provide curiosity, judgment,
creativity, and goals.
There is another important consequence of the rapid
development of AI. It will inevitably influence the job
market. Some professions that require relatively simple
intellectual tasks will probably disappear or change
very soon. This may sound frightening. But if we look at
history, we can see that technological revolutions have
always produced similar changes.
Let us look at the Industrial Revolution of the
nineteenth century. Mechanization completely transformed
many professions. Some occupations disappeared, while
new and more sophisticated ones appeared. For example,
the traditional cabman was eventually replaced by the
professional driver of a much more complex vehicle.
But notice something important: The technological
development did not simply eliminate a profession. It
changed the level of specialization that society
required. And this is a pattern that we can observe
again and again. During major technological
breakthroughs, lower‑level professions tend to be
replaced by professions requiring higher levels of
knowledge and specialization.
I believe that something similar will happen with
Artificial Intelligence. The question is not simply:
“Will AI take my job?” The more useful question is:
“What kind of specialist will be needed when AI becomes
a standard tool?”
And the answer is clear. People who can use powerful
new technologies creatively and responsibly will be in
greater demand. This is where the university becomes
especially important.
The university is not only a place where you acquire
the information. It is a place where you develop
yourself. You learn how to think systematically. You
learn how to discuss ideas with other people. You learn
how to work on a difficult problem when the answer is
not immediately available. You meet professors and
researchers who can show you ways of thinking that you
would not discover by yourself.
And you learn something that is particularly important
in the age of AI: how to become an expert. Expertise
does not mean knowing every fact. It means understanding
the structure of a problem. It means knowing which
questions are important. It means recognizing when an
answer is plausible — and when it is nonsense. And this
kind of expertise takes time. There is no shortcut.
You are particularly fortunate to begin your
university education at this moment. You will enter your
professional life during one of the great technological
transitions in human history. By the time you graduate,
Artificial Intelligence will probably be much more
powerful than it is today. Some of the tools that we
consider remarkable today may seem primitive in just a
few years.
This means that you should not try to prepare yourself
only for today's job market. You should prepare yourself
for a world that does not yet fully exist. That means
developing strong fundamental knowledge, learning how to
think independently, and being ready to learn
continuously. Because whatever profession you choose,
you will probably have to learn new things throughout
your entire career.
And I would like to say a few words about this
university. I do not need to explain to you all its
advantages. You can see many of them around you. You are
in Shenzhen — one of the most dynamic and innovative
cities in the world. You have an excellent environment
for technology, science, and entrepreneurship. You have
professors and researchers coming from different parts
of the world. And, perhaps most importantly, you are
surrounded by other young people who are ambitious,
talented, and interested in the future.
This combination creates exceptional opportunities.
But opportunities are only opportunities. What you make
of them depends on you.
Do not be afraid to ask difficult questions. Do not
study only for examinations. Try to understand why
things work. Learn mathematics even if your main field
is not mathematics. Learn some programming even if you
do not plan to become a computer scientist. Learn to
communicate your ideas clearly. And, above all, remain
curious.
Let me finish with one thought. We are entering a new
period in the history of science and technology. For the
first time, Human Intelligence and Artificial
Intelligence are beginning to work together on a very
large scale. We do not know which professions will
disappear and which new ones will appear. We do not know
what scientific discoveries will become possible. But we
know that the transformation has already begun. And you
will begin your careers at precisely this extraordinary
moment.
This is not something to be afraid of. It is an
opportunity. You have the chance to become specialists
in a world that is being created right now.
So I wish you good luck with your studies, with your
future specialization, and with all the challenges that
await you.
Remember: AI may give you the answers. Your education
should teach you which questions are worth asking. And
perhaps this will be one of the most important skills of
your generation.
I wish you an exciting, successful, and inspiring
academic year.
Thank you.
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