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Core Insights - The article discusses the recent recruitment of AI expert Steven Hoi by Alibaba's Tongyi Lab, indicating a strategic shift towards foundational research in multimodal large models [2][4][7] - Hoi's extensive background in AI, including over 20 years of experience and significant academic contributions, positions him as a key asset for Alibaba in enhancing its AI capabilities [2][4] - The move reflects Alibaba's commitment to accelerating the development of multimodal AI technologies, which are crucial for the company's competitive positioning in the global AI landscape [7][10] Group 1: Steven Hoi's Background and Role - Steven Hoi has over 20 years of experience in AI and has published more than 300 academic papers, with over 50,000 citations, making him one of the top 1% AI scientists globally [2] - He previously served as Vice President at Salesforce, where he built the AI research ecosystem in Asia from the ground up [2][4] - Hoi joined Alibaba in February 2025 as Vice President and Chief Scientist of the Intelligent Information Business Group, focusing on multimodal foundational models and applications [4] Group 2: Strategic Implications for Alibaba - Hoi's transition to the Tongyi Lab team suggests a significant talent reallocation within Alibaba, emphasizing the importance of foundational research in AI [7] - Alibaba's Tongyi Lab is currently in a critical phase of "speed of iteration" and "multimodal development," necessitating top-tier talent like Hoi to drive innovation [7][10] - The company aims to enhance its competitive edge by rapidly iterating AI models and advancing from unimodal to multimodal capabilities, which is seen as an inevitable trend in the industry [7][10] Group 3: Challenges and Opportunities in Multimodal AI - Hoi highlighted several technical challenges in developing unified multimodal models, including the scarcity of models that support full multimodal interaction and the difficulty in balancing understanding and generation across different modalities [10] - He emphasized that the era of multimodal Agent AI is just beginning, with many technical hurdles to overcome before achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) [10] - The challenges present significant opportunities for growth and innovation within the multimodal AI sector, as the industry seeks to address these issues [10]