On July 15, 2026, the plenary forum of the 28th Annual Meeting of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) was held in Beijing. Professor Zhang Xu—President of the Chinese Society for Neuroscience, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Director of the Guangdong Institute of Intelligent Science and Technology (GDIIST)—attended the plenary forum and delivered a keynote report entitled "Brain‑Inspired Science and Technology for the Benefit of Humanity." During the forum, Academician Zhang Xu gave an exclusive interview to Guangming Online, systematically popularising the frontier technology of brain‑inspired intelligence (BI) and making a significant prediction: by conservative estimates, within the next five years, many people are likely to own a compact, energy‑efficient brain‑inspired intelligent personal computer (BI PC).

What is Brain‑Inspired Intelligence?

Academician Zhang Xu pointed out that brain‑inspired intelligence is a brain‑science‑enlightened intelligent science and technology. By drawing on the principles of human perceptual and cognitive neural networks and their working mechanisms, it proposes and engineers intelligent frameworks, algorithms, models, and computing systems inspired by brain information processing mechanisms, in order to simulate and realise various core capabilities of the human brain. "The goal of brain‑inspired intelligence is to construct structures and functions resembling biological brains on both silicon‑based and carbon‑based substrates, and to apply them in areas such as intelligent chips, computers, robotics, and brain medicine."

As an emerging intelligent technology, brain‑inspired intelligence differs markedly from artificial intelligence (AI). Academician Zhang Xu explained that brain‑inspired intelligence adopts neuromorphic computing, mimicking the operational mode of the human brain to enable computer hardware and software to process information efficiently, while featuring both low power consumption and high computational power.

BI PC: Putting Intelligent Computing Power into the Hands of the People

In Academician Zhang Xu's view, the core objective of developing brain‑inspired intelligence is to make supercomputers smaller, more affordable, and more energy‑efficient—"affordable for everyone." He predicted that over the next five years, compact, energy‑saving BI PCs will gradually become popular and can be widely used in home, office, and laboratory settings.

Behind this prediction lies the fundamental resolution by brain‑inspired intelligence of the current pain points in the AI industry. Academician Zhang Xu noted that the current AI technology system makes AI supercomputers extremely expensive to build and immensely power‑hungry; the high cost of developing and using large general‑purpose models, and the centralisation of data centres, create difficulties in protecting data privacy and rights. "Human thought and wisdom are the greatest reasons for human existence," he said. "Brain‑inspired intelligence can truly place efficient, low‑energy intelligent computing power into the hands of ordinary people. Individuals can develop their own large models, unleash their creativity and wisdom, and at the same time protect data privacy."

Academician Zhang Xu further pointed out that although brain‑inspired intelligence is still in the research and development stage, it holds enormous potential for future development and will broadly involve life sciences, biomedicine, computer science, communications, and many other industries. As the first research institution both domestically and internationally dedicated to systematic, comprehensive, and full‑chain brain‑inspired intelligence research, GDIIST is continuously advancing brain‑inspired intelligence from fundamental research to industrial applications, enabling this frontier technology to truly empower all industries and benefit every household.

This article is compiled and adapted from relevant reports by Guangming Online and China News Service.