On the night of 18th February 2025, the 2nd series of the Academians Talk was held at Multifunctional Hall - A, with the theme “The Tech Nexus: Decoding AI, Quantum Computing, and Data Analytics”. The multifunction hall were filled with lots of academians wanting to hear about some insights about the latest advancements of technology. Our Residence Master, Alvin Leung, also sat in during the talks, to hear from our 4 brilliant academians from the computer science department, which were Tomiris Sarsenbayeva, Blatbek Alfarabi, SANTOSO Bryan Lee, and SUSANTO Jason Raphael. All 4 of our dearest academians provided their best insights on their fields.

The first talk was given by Tomiris, with her bringing the talk “Behind the Scenes of ChatGPT: How Large Language Models Work”. She described the advancements of large language models, how the generative AI that most of us use today work, and their rapid advancements in recent years. Overall, she provided an interesting and detailed talk about the current viral large language model such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek.

The second talk was given by Alfarabi, where he brought the topic “Quantum Computers: How Do They Work and Why Do We Care”. Alfa brought up quite a deep topic, talking about how quantum computers differ from the normal computers we do day to day, and how these quantum computers are integrated into our society. He also included quite a detailed explanation about the science and math behind the development of quantum computers.

Followed by Alfa, was the third talk given by Bryan, talking about “How the Internet Works? A Journey Behind the Scenes”. This talk focused more about explaining the process behind how webpages, content, and the internet, is displayed on our phones and laptops. He also discussed the nature, details, and features of the internet, such as cybersecurity. Finally, it was concluded by the discussion of several developments of the internet, and online connection in the world.

The final talk was given by Jason, with the title “Formula 1: A Sport of Data”. Perhaps a more different talk, Jason provided the academians with insight of how data analysis and machine learning was implemented in one of the worlds hottest and most competitive sports, Formula 1. He gave examples of how data recorded from lap times at certain parts of the track was affected by driver decisions and car builds, allowing race engineers and race managers to make real time decisions. He also showed how an AI model could be created to make more objectively beneficial decisions for the team.

Overall, the talk was very interesting, talking about the numerous advancements of technology in all the different fields, giving a great place for academians who are interested in how the great technology works behind the scenes, being presented by the brilliant academians who are indulged in the topic.