MidReal Story
Legacy of Insight
Scenario: Daniel Kahneman just passed away. I am Kaijie Chen. I can still recall our first conversation. It was almost 10 years ago, when he introduced the concept of System 2 Thinking to me. We had a cheerful discussion, and from there, our System 2 AI research began. 10 years from then, we are already a billion dollar company, basing our technology on the idea of System 2. Today I stand in front of his tomb, mourning for the loss of this world, a great mind, a mentor, and a dear friend.
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I first met Daniel Kahneman almost a decade ago, on a sunny day in Princeton, New Jersey.
I stood outside his office with a stack of papers in my hands and a pounding heart.
I was nervous, but excited to meet the man who had changed the way we think about thinking.
I’d devoted my undergraduate thesis to his ideas and now, as I prepared to start my Ph.
D., I hoped to learn more by working with him.
I took a deep breath and knocked on his door.
When he invited me in, I was immediately struck by how much he looked like his photos.
His hair was bright white, like fresh snow, and his eyes were sharp and focused.
But what struck me most was the way he smiled when he shook my hand, as if we’d known each other for ages.
“Welcome,” he said.
The office itself was stunning—two long desks sat back-to-back in the center of the room, surrounded by tall bookshelves overflowing with papers and books.
I could see that even the window sills were crowded with papers, magazines, and unopened mail.
After Daniel offered me a seat, I found myself looking around like a tourist trying to take in all the sights.
I smiled at him and cleared my throat.
“Uh, thank you for taking the time to meet with me,” I said.
“I’m really excited to talk about your work and see how we can collaborate.”
He smiled again, making me feel like an old friend.
“I’m excited to talk to you as well,” he said, before pointing at the stack of papers I was holding.
He raised his eyebrows and asked, “Is that for me?”
“Yes,” I said, pulling off the top page.
“It’s my thesis on your research.”
I prepared myself for the inevitable eye roll or look of boredom, but instead of either, he gave me an approving nod.
It turns out that Daniel is one of those people who truly believes that everyone has something to teach him—no matter their age or background.
As we launched into our conversation that day, I knew immediately that this was going to be one of the most important conversations of my life.
I was right, of course.
Daniel Kahneman was—and still is—one of the most important people in my life.
The things he taught me in the months and years to come would shape my ideas about the future of artificial intelligence.
Those conversations would be a big part of the reason why I came up with the idea for our company.
And today—nearly a decade later—those conversations are still some of my favorites.
I remember feeling so nervous on the morning of my first meeting with Daniel that I couldn’t even eat breakfast.
I paced around my room for hours before finally deciding to leave for his office two hours early.
I arrived outside his door 45 minutes before our scheduled meeting time and walked up and down the hallway a few times before finally knocking.
When he invited me in, I took a deep breath and stepped into his office.
It was a sunny day and the light streamed through his window, illuminating a room filled with books, papers, and magazines from floor to ceiling.
