Zi Liang (Research Page)

My name is Zi Liang, now a PhD student in the Astaple Group of Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). My supervisor is Prof. Haibo Hu. I begin my research in Xi'an Jiaotong University, under the supervision of Prof. Pinghui Wang and Ruofei (Bruce) Zhang. I also work closely with Dr. Nuo Xu, Shuo Zhang, Yaxin Xiao, Xinwei Zhang, and Yanyun Wang.

I specialize in analyzing the potential risks inherent in language models, with a focus on understanding why and how neural networks function and identifying vulnerabilities within them. My research is driven by a deep curiosity to uncover the mechanisms behind these models and to address the security challenges they present.

My work can be categorized into two main areas:

• Uncovering New Threats and Developing Defenses: I conduct comprehensive evaluations of popular AI services and techniques, combining in-depth theoretical analysis with practical experimentation, such as our study in prompt extraction attacks (link);
• Enhancing Understanding of Models and Learning Processes: I aim to explain the root causes of safety issues in AI systems, examining how these problems arise during model training and inference, and what they imply for the broader field of machine learning.

In addition to my research, I have extensive experience in natural language processing (NLP), particularly in building conversational AI systems, which I have been actively involved in since 2020. More recently, starting in 2024, I have developed a strong interest in the future of AI, particularly in the application of reinforcement learning to advance the capabilities and safety of intelligent systems.