TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew forecasts AI-driven scientific breakthroughs within three years

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has joined the growing list of tech executives putting a clock on artificial intelligence. According to CNBC, Chew said AI will drive major scientific breakthroughs within the next three years. He made the remarks on August 1, 2026, in a speech to PhD graduates at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. What Chew told the graduates Chew described the present moment as an era of innovation without precedent. His central argument was that AI is pushing technology and society through change that compounds on itself rather than arriving in steady increments. Notably, Chew did not spell out which discoveries he expects or which scientific fields will move first. His forecast was about the pace and scale of change, not a list of specific milestones with dates attached. Chew has run TikTok since 2021. Before that, he held roles at smartphone maker Xiaomi and at Goldman Sachs, giving him a background that spans consumer hardware, finance and now one of the world’s most closely watched social platforms. A crowded field of three-year forecasts Chew is far from alone in setting an aggressive timeline. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in 2025 that he expected a major s...