Key Takeaways
- Zengyi Qin co-founded MyShell, a decentralized platform using blockchain to power AI-based applications.
- Qin interned at Microsoft Asia’s Visual Computing Group, studying vision-language models and improving AI.
- MyShell allows creators to build AI apps, empowering artists and developers without relying on large corporations.
Who is Zengyi Qin?
Zengyi Qin helped start MyShell and leads its AI research. MyShell is a decentralized platform that uses blockchain to power AI-based applications. He is also working on a Ph.D. in Computer Science at Tsinghua University, where he studies multimodal machine learning and generative AI. Zengyi earned his Bachelor’s degree in Automation Science and Electrical Engineering from Beihang University in 2018.
Later, he began his Ph.D. under Professor Yuxin Peng at Tsinghua University. As part of his studies, he spent time at MIT as a visiting student, working with Professors Antonio Torralba and Phillip Isola on computer vision. He also interned at Microsoft Asia’s Visual Computing Group, where he helped develop vision-language models under Dr. Baining Guo.
Early Career and Technical Foundations
Zengyi Qin’s path into AI and blockchain began with an internship at Horizon Robotics, where he focused on embedded systems and real-time perception. This practical experience helped him build a solid understanding of AI applications, especially in real-world settings where speed and efficiency are key.
Exploring AI at Microsoft
Qin’s curiosity about AI deepened when he became a research intern at Microsoft Asia’s Visual Computing Group. There, he studied methods for training AI to understand both images and text together. His work helped improve AI systems that can process different types of information simultaneously, making them better at understanding and interacting with the world.
Interest in Decentralized AI and Blockchain
As Qin continued his research, he realized that blockchain could help solve important AI problems like keeping data secure, transparent, and more evenly shared. He saw blockchain as a way to stop AI from being controlled by only a few big companies and instead make it available to more people.
Co-Founding MyShell AI
In 2023, Qin helped start MyShell, a platform that combines AI and blockchain to let creators build AI-powered applications. As the AI Research Lead, he guides the development of open-source models and tools that give users more control while keeping the system fair and transparent.
AI Research on Connecting Data
Qin’s research combines different kinds of information, such as pictures, videos, and text, into AI systems that can better understand and respond to the world. He studies ways to improve AI that creates content, finds connections between different types of data, and learns in a way that aligns with human thinking. His work has been shared at well-known AI conferences like CVPR, NeurIPS, and ICCV.
Sharing AI Tools with the Community
Qin actively works on open-source AI projects and has helped develop well-known tools like LLaVA (Large Language-and-Vision Assistant) and MiniGPT-4. These projects help AI understand images and text, making AI systems more advanced. His contributions have given developers worldwide useful tools for creating and testing AI-powered solutions.
Supporting Open and Fair AI Development
Qin strongly supports open-source AI, shared decision-making, and ethical AI growth. He believes a few big companies should not control AI, but it should be built in a way that is open and shaped by the community. He backs efforts that promote fairness, give users more control, and ensure AI is used responsibly.
Qin on Open-Source AI
In an interview on the YouTube channel of Naveen K, Zengyi Qin shared his views on open-source AI, decentralized systems, and AI’s role in society. As part of the Future of AI series, he emphasized open-source models as key to teamwork and progress, allowing researchers to build on shared ideas. He pointed to projects like Stable Diffusion for images and MyShell’s Open Voice for audio as proof that open AI can be both practical and commercially successful while making advanced tools more accessible.
Supporting Fair and Open AI
Qin strongly believes in ethical AI, transparency, and giving users more control. He supports AI systems managed by the community and promotes responsible AI development to keep it open and available to everyone. He takes part in discussions about making AI fairer, reducing bias, and protecting user privacy.
AI and the Creator Economy
With MyShell, Qin is creating a new AI-powered space where artists, developers, and businesses can build AI applications without depending on big companies. His work focuses on changing how content is made, who owns AI tools, and how people earn through Web3.
Future Vision for AI and Blockchain
Qin sees a future where AI and blockchain work together to make AI applications safer, more open, and guided by the community. He continues to explore AI models on the blockchain, shared machine learning, and AI-powered groups where users can help shape AI’s future.
Final Thoughts
Zengyi Qin is helping to shape a future where AI is open, fair, and controlled by the community. Through MyShell, he is building a platform that lets people create AI tools without relying on big companies. His work in AI research and blockchain focuses on making technology more transparent, secure, and available to everyone. By supporting open-source AI, he is helping developers and creators build new ideas and keep AI fair for all. As AI and blockchain grow, Qin’s work will continue to play an important role in this change.
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