Turing Award and Fields Medal Laureates Join Global AI Leaders to Explore Scientific Discovery and the Future of Intelligence

HONG KONG, Sept. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Masters of Abstraction & AI4SCI Summit will take place in Hong Kong on December 16–17, 2026, bringing together Turing Award and Fields Medal laureates, leading scientists, AI founders and technical builders, technology industry leaders, sovereign funds and long-term investors, policy representatives, and a new generation of young scientists.

The 2026 Summit was initiated by the Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF) and is jointly organized by Laureates City and Symbiosis Science, with the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the International Mathematical Union (IMU) as supporting partners.

A defining feature of this year's program is the convergence in Hong Kong of three major international scientific communities spanning mathematics and computer science. Centered on AI for Science, the program will extend beyond the two-day Summit to include a Turing Award-themed exhibition, the Masters of Abstraction Gala Dinner, and the continuation of Symbiosis Rising Minds, creating a broader platform that connects foundational scientific thinking, frontier AI, public science communication, emerging talent and long-term collaboration.

As artificial intelligence begins to participate in scientific hypothesis generation, experimental design, drug discovery and materials research — while foundation models, chips, data centers and energy systems increasingly form a new layer of technological infrastructure — the boundary between scientific discovery and artificial intelligence is being redrawn.

When AI begins to participate in discovery itself, how should we redefine science and intelligence?

HLF, ACM and IMU: International Scientific Communities Converge in Hong Kong

One of the defining characteristics of Masters of Abstraction & AI4SCI Summit 2026 is the international scientific network behind it.

Established in 2013 and initiated by the Klaus Tschira Foundation, the Heidelberg Laureate Forum is one of the world's most influential intergenerational platforms in mathematics and computer science. Each year, around 200 outstanding young researchers from across the world meet leading mathematicians and computer scientists in Heidelberg for sustained scientific exchange.

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), founded in 1947, is one of the world's leading professional organizations for computing and presents the ACM A.M. Turing Award.

The International Mathematical Union (IMU), founded in 1920, is a central international organization for the advancement of mathematics. It supports the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), held every four years, and oversees the awarding of the Fields Medal.

Together, these institutions connect a scientific network spanning foundational mathematics, computer science and artificial intelligence. Their presence in Hong Kong will further strengthen links between the world's leading scientific communities, Asia's AI ecosystem, technology capital and the next generation of researchers.

From the Turing Award and Fields Medal to AI for Science

Masters of Abstraction & AI4SCI Summit 2026 goes beyond the format of a traditional academic forum. This year, the conversation expands from mathematics and computer science into AI for Science — one of the fastest-moving frontiers in global technology.

Over the past several years, AI has moved from being primarily an assistive tool toward becoming part of the core scientific workflow. From protein-structure prediction and drug discovery to advanced materials, energy systems, manufacturing and scientific computing, AI is increasingly involved in complex research processes that were once driven almost entirely by human experts.

At the same time, AI itself is becoming infrastructure, creating an increasingly visible chain of interdependence:

Science → Models → Compute → Energy → Industry → Capital

Masters of Abstraction & AI4SCI Summit 2026 will explore this transformation through six core themes: the foundational science of intelligence; AI-enabled scientific discovery; frontier foundation models and agents; sovereign compute and energy; the future economy and strategic capital; and decarbonization and green intelligence.

AI × Compute × Energy: The Next Infrastructure Frontier

As foundation models continue to scale, demand for chips, data centers and power systems is rising rapidly. Compute is no longer only a technical consideration; it is becoming strategic infrastructure with implications for national AI competitiveness, energy security and industrial development.

AI is also reshaping the energy system in return. Machine learning is increasingly being applied to smart grids, energy dispatch, storage, advanced materials, carbon management and industrial decarbonization, giving rise to another emerging chain:

AI → Compute → Energy → Carbon → Green Industry → Capital

The Summit will therefore ask not only what comes next for large models, but a more enduring question: who will build the next generation of infrastructure for the AI era?

Scientists, AI Builders and Long-Term Capital at the Same Table

Another defining feature of Masters of Abstraction & AI4SCI Summit 2026 is its ambition to narrow the distance between science, industry and capital.

The Summit is expected to convene not only Turing Award and Fields Medal laureates, but also founders and technical leaders building the next generation of foundation models, AI agents, robotics and AI infrastructure, alongside sovereign investors, global asset managers, family offices, venture capital, private equity and long-term technology capital.

• Those defining the next scientific questions;
• Those building the next generation of intelligent systems;
• Those allocating capital for the decade ahead.

Bringing these groups into the same room is central to what differentiates Masters of Abstraction & AI4SCI Summit 2026 from both conventional AI conferences and traditional scientific meetings.

Turing Award-Themed Exhibition: Bringing the Ideas That Shaped Computing to the Public

Alongside the two-day Summit, Masters of Abstraction & AI4SCI Summit 2026 also plans to present a Turing Award-themed exhibition in Hong Kong.

The exhibition will trace the development of computer science through archival images of scientists, personal stories, landmark scientific achievements and historical materials, highlighting the people and ideas that helped shape modern computing and artificial intelligence.

If the Summit is focused on the future of AI, the exhibition asks audiences to look backward as well: what scientific ideas, breakthroughs and generations of researchers made today's AI possible?

The exhibition will extend the event beyond the conference room, using science-centered storytelling to connect research, the city and the wider public.

From the scientific contributions of Turing Award laureates to the evolution of computer science into today's AI era, the exhibition will become an important part of Masters of Abstraction & AI4SCI Summit's effort to connect scientific history, future intelligence and public engagement.

Gala Dinner: A High-Level Forum for Science, AI and Global Capital

During the Summit, the Masters of Abstraction Gala Dinner will be held at Conrad Hong Kong, creating a more intimate setting for senior figures from science, AI and global capital to connect in depth.

In contrast to the daytime Summit program, the Gala Dinner will bring together leading scientists, AI company executives, sovereign capital, family offices, industry leaders and representatives of major institutions in a private, high-level environment.

The evening will center on AI × Science × Sovereign Capital, with a welcome reception, special conversations and dinner designed to create deeper connections across science, technology, industry and capital.

The daytime program explores the future; the evening is designed to connect the people who may help build it together.

From Today's Leading Scientists to the Next Generation of Rising Minds

Masters of Abstraction & AI4SCI Summit 2026 will also look beyond the scientists who have already changed the world, toward the next generation whose work may shape what comes next.

Following its launch in Singapore, the Symbiosis Rising Minds program will continue and expand in Hong Kong.

The program is designed for young scientific talent worldwide. It aims to invite leading scientists and professors to frame important questions for the future, identify young people with original ways of thinking and long-term research potential, and support their continued exploration through international scientific networks, intergenerational exchange and sustained research support.

Unlike a conventional competition, Rising Minds is less interested in who can produce the fastest standard answer than in deeper questions:

• Who can formulate a genuinely new question?
• Who sees possibilities outside established paths?
• Who may become part of the next generation to change science?

This gives Masters of Abstraction & AI4SCI Summit a purpose beyond a two-day summit: to become a long-term platform for discovering and connecting emerging scientific talent.

Hong Kong: Connecting Global Science, China's Technology Ecosystem and International Capital

Hong Kong was selected not only as a venue, but as a strategic point of connection. The city links global universities, scientific communities, international institutions and capital markets on one side, while maintaining close ties with mainland China's AI companies, advanced manufacturing, technology industries and the wider Greater Bay Area innovation ecosystem on the other.

As global AI competition expands from model performance into a system-level contest involving science, compute, energy, industry and capital, Hong Kong is well positioned to serve as a bridge between global scientific and technology resources and China's innovation ecosystem.

From the convergence of HLF, ACM and IMU, to the Turing Award-themed exhibition, AI for Science Summit, Gala Dinner and Rising Minds, Masters of Abstraction & AI4SCI Summit aims to use Hong Kong as a long-term gateway for global dialogue across science and artificial intelligence.

Beyond a Summit: Building a Long-Term Scientific Network

Masters of Abstraction & AI4SCI Summit 2026 will connect science, artificial intelligence, industry, the public and long-term capital through keynote speeches, panels, fireside conversations, closed-door exchanges, a thematic exhibition and a high-level Gala Dinner.

Its longer-term ambition, however, extends beyond a single event. Centered on AI for Science, Masters of Abstraction & AI4SCI Summit aims to develop an international collaboration network linking leading scientists, AI companies, emerging researchers, industrial resources and long-term capital.

From world-class scientific communities to the next generation of AI builders; from mathematics and computer science to life sciences, materials, energy and industry; from scientific discovery and public science communication to compute infrastructure and long-term capital — a new technological era is taking shape where these forces converge.

"The future will not be built by science, artificial intelligence or capital alone. It will be built where they converge."

Masters of Abstraction & AI4SCI Summit
December 16–17, 2026 • Hong Kong