Ya-Qin Zhang

Former Baidu president and founding dean of Tsinghua’s Institute for AI Industry Research who signed the extinction-risk statement and the IDAIS red lines, arguing safety must rank above technical and industrial advance.

Roles

1998 – 2014Corporate Vice President; Managing Director, Microsoft Research Asia, MicrosoftSource →
Sept 2014 – Oct 2019President, BaiduSource →
2020 – presentChair Professor of AI Science and Founding Dean, Institute for AI Industry Research (AIR), Tsinghua UniversityForeign member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (张亚勤).Source →
2024 – presentSenior Adviser, International AI Safety Report, International AI Safety ReportPer the Carnegie Endowment; start date not confirmed on a primary page.Source →

On the record

Apr 2026 · Statement · International Dialogues on AI Safety, London
AI capabilities are outpacing the world's ability to prepare
Senior Adviser, International AI Safety Report, International AI Safety Report at the time
Listed as "Yaqin Zhang", Chair Professor and Dean of AIR, Tsinghua; former President, Baidu.
IDAIS-London statement →
Mar 2024 · Statement · International Dialogues on AI Safety, Beijing
Unsafe development, deployment, or use of AI systems may pose catastrophic or even existential risks to humanity within our lifetimes.
Senior Adviser, International AI Safety Report, International AI Safety Report at the time
Signatory; also co-authored "Managing extreme AI risks amid rapid progress" (Science, May 2024) and signed IDAIS-Shanghai (2025).
IDAIS-Beijing consensus statement on AI red lines →
Aug 2023 · Interview · Internet Weekly
The greater the technological capability becomes, the greater risks it will also have.
Chair Professor of AI Science and Founding Dean, Institute for AI Industry Research (AIR), Tsinghua University at the time
English translation compiled by Concordia AI of a Chinese-language interview.
Ya-qin Zhang — Chinese Perspectives on AI Safety →
30 May 2023 · Statement · Center for AI Safety
Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.
Chair Professor of AI Science and Founding Dean, Institute for AI Industry Research (AIR), Tsinghua University at the time
Listed as Professor and Dean, AIR, Tsinghua University.
Statement on AI Risk →
19 May 2023 · Interview · CGTN
put AI safety and responsibility above all technical and industrial advances.
Chair Professor of AI Science and Founding Dean, Institute for AI Industry Research (AIR), Tsinghua University at the time
Fragment quoted within CGTN's report; said of what nations must do.
AI safety and responsibility above all else: Tsinghua's Ya-Qin Zhang →