Title: From Large Language Models to AI Agents: An Introduction to Vibe Research and Human-Machine Collaborative Economics Research

Speaker: Zhu Chen, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor, Lingnan College, Sun Yat-sen University. His research covers food consumption, nutritional health and genetic economics, and he developed the first Human-in-the-Loop Economics Research (HLER) system powered by Claude Code. He has published more than 50 academic papers and presided over youth and general projects of the National Social Science and Natural Science Foundations.

Abstract: Artificial intelligence is evolving from dialogue-based large language models to actionable agent systems capable of executing complex tasks. This shift reshapes research tools and the organizational logic of academic production. Tools including Anthropic Claude Code, OpenAI Codex and ByteDance Trae can autonomously write codes, process datasets and complete multi-step local workflows, marking AI’s transition from question answering to full research pipeline execution. This lecture first introduces core capabilities of LLMs, then explains the concept of AI agents and the emerging Vibe Research paradigm, with live demonstrations of open-source agent workflows for real academic projects. It also discusses potential risks of AI research and the Human-in-the-Loop collaboration principle to retain independent academic judgment while leveraging AI. Pre-requisite software for practice: Claude Code / OpenAI Codex (Pro/Plus subscription required), Python, Stata, R, Git.

Date & time: 31 July 2026, 10:00 - 12:00

Venue: B609, Yifu Information Technology Building, Central Campus, SDU