ALL EVENTS
SCIENCE BLAST
2021 ANNUAL IRCAI AWARD
1. The announcement of the 2021 Annual IRCAI Award to Ms. Adriana-Eufrosina Bora for her important and valuable work on AI to address modern slavery¹ (i.e. an application of AI to address UN SDG 8, Target 8.7).
2. Round table on Artificial Intelligence (AI) against Modern Slavery – a case study for SDG 8 addressing the challenges and opportunities for the use of AI in progressing towards the SDGs. The round table will focus on Project AIMS² (Artificial Intelligence against Modern Slavery) and how it can assist diverse stakeholders, including businesses, governments, investors, academics, procurement specialists, and ESG analysts, to contribute towards the eradication of modern slavery under the framework of the SDGs 8, Target 8.7.
The round table will discuss: Where do we go from here, and how do we ensure that AI is used effectively to hold businesses accountable for eradicating modern slavery from global supply chains? The panelists will present their long-term vision for the tool’s local and international impact. The discussion will frame the case for a Proof of Concept (POC) and the key questions that need to be resolved in the next phase of the project. Concrete use cases will be addressed, highlighting the key stakeholders’ journey as users of this tool and how it will assist them in reaching impact and in ensuring accountability at scale.
The panelists will share insights they have gleaned through the process of working on Project AIMS and from the field of anti-modern slavery work and machine learning. The diverse, multi-disciplinary stakeholder panel is a testament to the breadth of knowledge and expertise that Project AIMS has assembled and feels is necessary to create a successful AI solution in the context of such a complex socio-economic issue.
AGENDA
1.50 – 2:00 Login and coffee 2.00 – 2:20 Introduction Opening and Introduction 3 minutes each:- John Shawe-Taylor, Director IRCAI
- Ambassador Simona-Mirela Miculescu, Permanent Delegate of Romania to UNESCO
- Prateek Sibal, Programme Specialist, Digital Innovation and Transformation Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO
- Claire Healy, Research Officer, Crime Research Section, UNODC
- Davor Orlic, Chief Operations Officer, IRCAI
- Distinguished Professor Kerrie Mengersen, The Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
- Adriana-Eufrosina Bora, AI and Modern Slavery Researcher at Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
- Davor Orlic, Chief Operations Officer, IRCAI
- Yolanda Lannquist, Head of Research & Advisory, The Future Society
- Katharine Bryant, Head of Policy and Programs Walk Free
- Laureen van Breen, Managing Director, WikiRate
- Allison Cohen, Applied AI Lead, AI for Humanity, Mila
- Davor Orlic, COO IRCAI announcing:
- Invitation to join the IRCAI Global network of AI excellence centres in Sustainable Development
- Invitation to Save the Date for a side event on May 5 – 6, 2022, on the margins of the UN Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (STI Forum)
- Ms. Adriana-Eufrosina Bora, Award Winner 2021
- Davor Orlic, Chief Operations Officer, IRCAI
- Prateek Sibal, Digital Innovation and Transformation Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO
SPEAKERS:
Katharine Bryant is Head of Policy and Programs at Walk Free and co-author of the Global Slavery Index (GSI). She oversees Walk Free’s program focused on, ‘what works?’ to combat modern slavery, including the eradication of the exploitation of women and girls. She has worked in counter trafficking and anti-slavery programming and research for the past decade. Yolanda Lannquist is Head of Research & Advisory at The Future Society (TFS), a nonprofit with the mission to advance the responsible adoption of AI and emerging technologies for the benefit of humanity. She leads projects focused on responsible AI adoption for nonprofits, organizations and governments, including national AI strategies for inclusive and sustainable development. She also leads AI policy research & advisory projects for international organizations including GIZ, OECD, World Bank Digital Development and the Global Partnership on AI. Yolanda is appointed to the OECD AI Policy Observatory’s expert group on Implementing Trustworthy AI (ONE TAI) and taught AI policy at IE University in Madrid. Yolanda has a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University and Bachelors with honors in Economics and European Studies from Columbia University. Laureen van Breen is WikiRate’s Managing Director. Coming from the Netherlands, she joined the WikiRate team in Berlin in 2016. She leads the organization, overseeing its operations, developing and implementing its strategy, setting up organizational structures, advocating for open data practices, and securing funding that enables the organization to flourish. Her academic background is in Social & Cultural Anthropology. Allison Cohen is the Applied AI Projects Lead at Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute. In this role, Allison works closely with AI researchers, collaborators and funding partners to develop socially beneficial AI projects and maximize their social impact. Allison has a background in International Development and Global Affairs and has worked with the governments of Canada and Sri Lanka. Dr. Claire Healy is Research Officer at the UNODC Crime Research Section, coordinating the UNODC Observatory on Smuggling of Migrants and conducting research, data collection and analysis on trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants. She was previously Senior Advisor and Research Officer on Trafficking in Persons at the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), and conducted policy-orientated research on human trafficking, migrant smuggling and migration in West Africa, South America, the Middle East and Europe. She also worked as Advisor to the Portuguese Government’s High Commission on Migration, and as Research Consultant for various migration-related NGOs in Dublin, Ireland. Claire is originally from Ireland, and holds a PhD in Migration History, awarded by the National University of Ireland in 2006. She has also worked as a translator and is fluent in English, Gaelic, Portuguese, German, Spanish and French. Prateek Sibal is programme specialist in the Digital Innovation and Transformation Section of the Communication and Information Sector at UNESCO. In this framework, he coordinates the Communication and Information Sector’s work on artificial intelligence and digital transformation. His work spans research, advocacy for human centered AI, policy advice and development of human and institutional capacities for the governance of digital technologies. He teaches Digital Government at Sciences Po, Paris. Kerrie Mengersen is a Distinguished Professor of Statistics and Director of the Centre for Data Science at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, and a member of the Australian Data Science Network. Her research interests focus on developing statistical methods and associated computational algorithms, to analyse new sources of data and derive new insights into complex real-world challenges. Kerrie is an elected member of the Australian Academy of Science, the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia, and the Queensland Academy of the Arts and Sciences. She is also an executive member of the International Statistical Institute and the International Biometrics Society, and a past President of the International Society for Bayesian Analysis. In 2016 Professor Mengersen becomes the first woman to receive the Statistical Society of Australia’s Pitman Medal, the highest award presented by the Society. Kerrie has supervised graduate students with a wide range of statistical interests, including theoretical and computational statistics, machine learning and AI, and applications in health, environment, business, social systems and social good. Kerrie is the principal supervisor of Adriana’s PhD.PARTNERS:
The Future Society (TFS) is a leading non-profit organization focused on the governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Its mission is to advance the responsible adoption of AI and other emerging technologies for the benefit of humanity. The Future Society adopted the prototype built by Adriana and launched Project AIMS in partnership with Walk Free. The Future Society pioneered the development of machine learning in benchmarking the businesses’ reports, by engaging a community of technical experts from across the globe. The Future Society is supporting the fight against modern slavery and hosting the open-source GitHub of Project AIMS. The Future Society remains a key knowledge partner in the development of this research.
Walk Free is an international human rights group focusing on accelerating the eradication of modern slavery, in all its forms. Adriana joined Walk Free in 2018 for a short internship and presented her master’s research to use AI to read and benchmark business reports on modern slavery. Walk Free suggested integrating the development of a prototype to use Natural Language Processing (NLP) to benchmark the statements produced by companies under Section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act. Once the first iteration of the prototype was ready, Walk Free and The Future Society established Project AIMS (AI against Modern Slavery), which invested in scaling the research and building a solution to unlock the information contained within the business statements. Walk Free remains a key knowledge partner in the future development of Project AIMS.
WikiRate is the largest open source registry of ESG data in the world with more than 3 million data points for over 100,000 companies. By bringing this information together in one place, and making it accessible, comparable and free for all, WikiRate aims to provide society with the tools and evidence needed to spur companies to respond to the world’s social and environmental challenges. WikiRate has been working closely with Project AIMS to develop the first explorations on binary, multi-class and multi-label classification algorithms. In this work, WikiRate is a key knowledge partner that provides the open repository which hosts the labelled data used in Project AIMS. Going forward, WikiRate remains a key knowledge partner in the development of Project AIMS.
Mila- Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute is the world’s largest academic research center in machine learning. Its mission is to be a global pole for scientific advances that inspire innovation and the development of AI for the benefit of all. Mila initially conducted a thorough algorithmic evaluation of Project AIMS. Building upon this collaboration, the research and development of Project AIMS will now continue in partnership with Mila’s AI for Humanity department, whose mission is to support the development of socially beneficial and impactful AI research and applications. This team provides the in-house Project Management skills to facilitate a robust, interdisciplinary, and responsible approach to this work. Furthermore, Mila’s team of Applied Machine Learning experts hope to continue ensuring the quality of Project AIMS’ ML functionality, bolstering the accuracy and reliability of the tool’s algorithms. Mila is convinced that Project AIMS offers a promising example of the ways in which AI and public policy should work together to create social change.
EU MEMBER STATES DIGITAL COUNSELLORS
Location: UCL AI Centre, London
Date: 30 November 2021
Time: 11h00 – 13h00 GMT
Registration: instructions to be provided by invitation
The Delegation of the European Union to the UK and the Embassy of Slovenia to the UK have joined forces with IRCAI to organise a field visit for the EU member States Digital Counsellors to the UCL Artificial Intelligence Centre. Organised as part of the EU Delegation activities in cooperation with the Slovenian Presidency to the EU.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, Slovenian Presidency and the International Research Center Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI) have joined forces to organize a number of events in close cooperation with Slovenian embassies and other permanent representatives in at least 15 countries around the world. The aim of this effort is to set an active agenda for AI during the Slovenian Presidency and to provide a basis for continuing and promoting bilateral discussions in the field of AI and sustainable development beyond the Presidency.
The Delegation of the European Union to the United Kingdom, opened in February 2020. The Delegation of the European Union (EU) in the UK is one of the 143 diplomatic representations of the EU around the world. It has been established following the United Kingdom’s (UK) withdrawal from the EU to promote EU policies in the UK by engaging with Her Majesty’s Government, political actors, the media, academia, business, the civil society and the wider British public. They analyse and report on the political, social, and economic situation in the UK to headquarters in Brussels and assist shaping the future EU-UK relations. Together with the embassies of EU Member States they also raise awareness on the rights of EU citizens in the UK after Brexit.
The UCL Artificial Intelligence Center and International Research Center Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI) will co-host a visit to UCLs facilities in London by EU Member States Digital Counsellors delegation of EU. Slovenia currently holds the presidency of the European Council and is also a funder to International Research Center Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI). The delegation will visit UCL Artificial Intelligence Centre’s facilities in Holborn. UCL also holds the UNESCO Chair in Artificial Intelligence and within its current remit the chairholder John Shawe-Taylor is also director of IRCAI.
OBJECTIVES
– Promote the UCL AI Centre and IRCAI Centre to senior diplomats in the EU Delegation and EU member states in London
– Present tangible results in AI to EU Member States counsellors in London with an interest in Digital affairs and AI
– Create positive/enthusiasm for AI with the EU delegates
– Create a report to be uploaded into the IRCAI library
AGENDA
11:00 – 11:30 GMT – Welcome
Opening and Introduction
David Barber on UCL AI Centre
John Shawe-Taylor on IRCAI Centr
Benjamin Guedj on Inria London Programme at UCL
Beatrice Covassi, Minister Counsellor, EU Delegation to the UK
Overview of the field and current topics in UCL AI Centre and IRCAI Centre to EU member states
– Current work and Challenges
– Reach and Research and Development
– Future Plans
11:30 – 12:00 GMT – Presentation 1
Presentations on tangible real-life use of AI in solving COVID-19
Delmiro Fernandez-Reyes
Key topics presented:
Key advances in AI technology for Healthcare
– Impacts on humans/society
– Global South and vaccinations
– Improved technology for vaccine development
12:00 – 12:30 GMT – Presentation 2
Presentations on tangible real-life use of AI in solving decarbonisation
Aidan O’Sullivan
Key topics presented:
– Innovative research in AI technology for Climate Change
– Achieving make net-zero a reality
– State-of-the-art artificial intelligence to leverage opportunities for energy efficiency in energy-intensive industries
– Re-engineering for the way societies produce and consume
12:30 – 13:00 GMT – Networking reception offered by the Embassy of Slovenia in the UK
INVITED SPEAKERS
David Barber – is the Director of the UCL Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Director of the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Foundational AI. His main research interests are in probabilistic modelling approaches to AI and Machine Learning, multisensory integration, aging, and applied research on display technology, eye tracking device, affective computing, and AI/robots.
John Shawe-Taylor is UNESCO Chair for Artificial Intelligence at UCL, Director of the International Research Center Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI). He as contributed to a number of fields ranging from mathematics of graph theory through cryptography to statistical learning theory and its applications. His main contributions have been the developing of principled analysis of machine learning and the coordination of European Networks of excellence that were influential in promoting the uptake of machine learning and AI in both research and commercial application.
Delmiro Fernandez-Reyes is the Chair of the Programme Committee for AI and Healthcare at IRCAI. Professor of Biomedical Computing at UCL Department of Computer Science and Adjunct Prof. in Paediatrics at the College of Medicine of the University of Ibadan (COMUI) Nigeria. He founded the UCL – University of Ibadan African Computational Sciences Centre for Health and Development (ACSC4HD). He leads work focuses on AI approaches and research in the biomedical and healthcare domain to tackle global health challenges and sustainable provision of healthcare. Currently he is focused on a COVID-19 scalable population level integrative vaccine development programme.
Aidan O’Sullivan is the Chair of the Programme Committee for AI and Climate Change at IRCAI, and Associate Professor in Energy and Artificial Intelligence at UCL Energy Institute where he leads the Energy Systems and Artificial Intelligence Lab and the department’s Data Analytics Research theme. He is also the founding course director for the Energy Systems and Data Analytics MSc, an innovative programme that combines the study of energy systems and sustainability with data science and machine learning.
Benjamin Guedj is director of the Inria London Programme, a joint structure to foster scientific collaboration between Inria and University College London as part of a strategic France-UK partnership. He has broad interests in statistical learning theory and machine learning, with a focus on PAC-Bayes learning, computational statistics, generalisation bounds for deep learning, data-efficient machine learning.CRACKING THE LANGUAGE BARRIER FOR A MULTILINGUAL AFRICA
PAST WEBINAR - KICK-OFF OF THE LACUNA FUND PROJECTS WITHIN THE MASAKHANE CONSORTIUM
- Masakhane MT: Decolonizing Scientific Writing for Africa
- Masakhane NER: Named Entity Recognition & Parts of Speech datasets for AfricanLanguages
- Building NLP Text and Speech Datasets for Low Resourced Languages in East Africa
- Nigerian Sentiment Lexicon
- Formal presentation by the project leads
- Formal presentation by the project officer
- Review of project overview and different roles and potential outcomes
- Definition of different structures and where possible identification of individual responsibilities
- Presentation of available software and networks that can be exploited
- Identification of areas where development is needed and which partners will be responsible for what
- Scheduling of the next set of meetings, including a technical workshop later in the year (perhaps w/c July), PMC meetings, and next project meetings
Coffee Break
14:05 – 16:00 (CEST) – Presentation of management of all 4 projects Jade Abbott, Retro Rabbit and Masakhane Peter Nabende, Makerere University Shamsuddeen Hassan, Bayero University Andrew Katumba, Makerere University Structure: Rollout, Milestones, List of deliverables, Technologies to be developed, Data collection, Legal framework, Risks, DiscussionCoffee Break
16:05 – 17:00 (CEST) – Presentations of business and outreach Presentation on data influencing policies: Hacking and Prototyping, Products and Business, Pilots and Architecture, Dissemination and Policy, Invitation to the research communitiy, Wrapping up and ClosureWEBINAR - BUILDING AFRICAN LANGUAGE DATASETS
Coffee Break
13:30 – 14:15 (CEST) Fellowship speakers Language Dataset Fellowships of all 9 languages Kevin Degila: Ewe language and Fongbe language David Adelani: Yoruba language Amelia Taylor: Chichewa language Thierno Diop: Wolof language Davis David: Kiswahili language Chayma Fourati:Tunisian Arabizi language Swahili language Lawrence Adu-Gyamfi: Twi language Joyce Nakatumba-Nabende:Luganda language 14:15 – 14:30 (CEST) Closing Remarks Bhanu Neupane, Communication and Information Sector, UNESCODIGITAL EDUCATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD
DAY 1 - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021
12:10 – 14:00 (CET) – Lunch Break (Slido quiz)
14:00 – 14:15 (CET) – Logistics and world perspective pt. 1 Intro Moderator Call in from site #1 Vanessa from Belgium Call in from site #2 Chaminda from Sri Lanka 14:15 – 14:30 (CET) – Sustainability of the digital classroom (Invited talk) Nina Jelen, Global Teacher Prize 2021 finalist, Primary school teacher and author of children’s books Nina is a primary school teacher in the Slovenian town of Zagorje ob Savi. In 2015, she won the Slovenian Information Commissioner’s competition for the best lesson on online safety. By turning her classroom into a virtual world, she used various games to promote positive online behaviour among elementary school pupils. In 2018, her project was rewarded by the European Commission’s Better Internet for Kids competition. At the DigiEduHack main stage event, however, Nina will slightly broaden her focus: Tuning in online, she will give us her own insights into the incorporation of sustainability into the digital classroom. 14:30 – 15:05 (CET) – Logistics and world perspective pt. 2 Call in from site #3 Nuno from Portugal Call in from site #4 Juha from Finland Call in from Slovenian Local Hackathon Moderator: Davor Orlic A 90 second video from the hackathon, presentation by: – Aleš Veršič, Open Data Slovenia Champion at the Ministry of Public Administration. – Boštjan Koritnik, Minister of Public Administration 15:05 – 16:05 (CET) – Future of education: A perspective on policy an innovation (Panel) Moderator: Lenart Kučič Speakers: – Zeynep Varoglu, Programme Specialist at UNESCO – Colin de la Higuera, UNESCO Chair in in technologies for the training of teachers by open educational resources at University of Nantes – John Domingue, Open University – Georgi Dimitrov, Head of Unit, DG EAC, European Commission – Yvonne Rogers, University College London The idea that we can learn everything by the age of 25 seems outdated. However, our education process usually ends after we leave the formal educational system. New technologies can help us prolong and enhance our learning experiences. We can now build personalised digital assistants for every individual student or a tutor. It is possible do de-centralise learning process and augment human teachers. But there will be challenges. All big actors of AI are the large private companies with personal interests in the field of education. Education systems are very different across the EU as well as their access to digital tools. We will thus have to develop interfaces and algorithms as policies that can help us address negative challenges and shape positive applications of AI. 16:05 – 16:15 (CET) – DigiEduHack 2020 Global Award pt. 2 DigiEduHack 2020 Global Award winner – team 316:20 – 17:00 (CET) – Coffee Break (Video feed of the DigiEduHack2021 graffiti creation, Slido quiz)
17:00 – 17:30 (CET) – Logistics and world perspective pt. 3 Call in from site #5 Prabu from Sri Lanka Call in from site #6 Juliette from Switzerland/Argentina/Peru Call in from site #7 Amna from Pakistan Goodbye to EU hacking sites Moderator 17:30 – 17:45 (CET) – Sustainability in education (Invited talk) Piret Liv Stern Dahl, EIT Climate-KIC Piret is currently working as Project Manager at EIT Climate-KIC. As part of the Human Capital project (an EIT Community initiative), Piret is responsible for engaging the education community members around topics of digital skills and competencies, innovation in education and exploration of common approaches for digital learning delivery. In a 15-minute session, she’s joined by two representatives from partner communities of EIT Climate-KIC (Wouter Buursma from Stichting Technotrend & Cristina Badulescu from the Timis Chamber of Commerce) to discuss the most innovative learning technologies that will enable program facilitators to actively contribute to our climate goals. 17:45 – 17:55 (CET) – Wrap up Moderator 18:30 – 20:30 (CET) – Social event Graffiti light performance & Slido quizDAY 2: Wednesday, November 10, 2021
12:35 – 14:00 (CET) – Lunch Break (Motion-stop of the graffiti creation)
14:00 – 14:20 (CET) – Connecting Every School to the Internet (Invited talk) – Dohyung Kim, UNICEF project Giga representative – Sahan Bulathwela, UCL In this 20-minute invited talk, two guests will join us: Do-Hyung leads a team of data scientists in Giga, a joint initiative between UNICEF and the UN’s International Telecommunication Union, focusing on the use of geospatial data and advanced data science technologies such as AI and machine learning. Meanwhile, Sahan is a researcher at the UCL Centre for Artificial Intelligence, where he focuses on improving educational contents to lifelong learners. Now, in this talk the focus will lie on something which is indispensable for digital education across the globe: Connecting every school to the internet. Do-Hyung says that “in order to plan the operations to provide internet connectivity to schools, first we need accurate information of the locations of schools and where schools don’t have internet connection.”, a statement they will most probably touch upon during this invited talk. 14:20 – 14:50 (CET) – AI in the classroom – European youth showcase (Invited talk) – Salvatore Nigro, CEO JA Europe Salvatore is the current CEO of Europe’s largest provider of entrepreneurship education programmes, JA Europe, where he dedicates his energy and passion to preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. He specialises in multi-stakeholder partnerships, workforce development and entrepreneurship programmes. In his 30-minute invited talk, he will delve into the use of AI in the classroom in Europe. As you may know, AI-based technologies are considered to be able to adapt to each student’s level of knowledge, speed of learning and desired goals, in order to make the most out of their education. 14:50 – 15:00 (CET) – 2-Day Recap Steering group members – Arjana Blazic, International Expert Team for Curricular Reform at the Croatian Ministry of Science and Education – Bart Verswijvel, Future Classroom Lab 15:00 – 15:30 (CET) – Learning vs. Progress vs. Paths (Invited talk) Mitchell L. Stevens, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University Mitchell is Professor of Education and (by courtesy) Sociology at Stanford University. The author of award-winning studies of home education and selective college admissions, his most recent books are titled “Remaking College: The Changing Ecology of Higher Education” and “Seeing the World: How US Universities Make Knowledge in a Global Era”. In the latter, Mitchell discusses why American universities continue to favour US-focused social science research despite efforts to make scholarship more cosmopolitan – an aspect he will not forget touching upon during this invited talk, which he titled “Learning vs. Progress vs. Paths”.15:30 – 16:00 (CET) – Coffee Break (Motion-stop of the graffiti creation)
16:00 – 16:25 (CET) – Closing: Goodbye to Ljubljana and DigiEduHack! – Georgi Dimitrov, Head of Unit, DG EAC, European Commission – Igor Pesek, Head of Unit for Digital Education, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia – John Shawe-Taylor, IRCAI 16:25 – 17:35 (CET) – Wrap-up: Goodbye to Ljubljana and DigiEduHack! Steering group on-site and onlineDIGITAL LAUNCH 2021
DAY 1 - Monday, March 29, 2021
5 min break
15:40 – 16:35 (CEST) – Building a Global AI Community for Sustainable Development (panel session) Round table with multi-stakeholders moderated by Melissa Heikkilä, AI Correspondent, Politico. Jade Abbott, Retro Rabbit and Masakhane Billy Okal, 6 River Systems (Shopify) and Data Science Africa Olalekan Akinsande, Chief Technical Lead at Data Science Nigeria Benjamin Rosman, University of the Witwatersrand and Deep Learning Indaba There are a number of AI communities across Africa form Deep Learning Indaba with their IndabaX chapters across 35 countries, to Data Science Africa and Data Science Nigeria which are both pushing forward capacity building aiming to train millions of AI practitioners across Africa, and Masakhane which is a research community specialized in African languages. This is a thriving landscape that supports research addressing local challenges in Africa. Link to video5 min break
16:40 – 16:45 (CEST) – Announcing the IRCAI Global Top 100 list for AI Projects on SDGs and how to engage with IRCAI (presentation) Davor Orlic, COO IRCAI IRCAI wants to give a voice to researchers across the world to present their best work, that’s why we want to start a scoping study with the TOP 100 projects to unearth the amazing work being done by AI colleagues everywhere. We have built mechanisms for researchers, policymakers, industry and venture capital to join our new Global Network of AI Excellence Centres. For this purpose, we have also set up a governance structure with Terms of Reference, Governing Board, Steering Committee and Programme Committees. Link to the IRCAI presentation Link to videoDAY 2 - Tuesday, March 30, 2021
5 min break
14:45 – 14:50 (CEST) – Findings of AI Need Assessment in Africa (presentation) Prateek Sibal and Bhanu Neupane, Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO UNESCO has published with the support of IDRC and Knowledge 4 All Foundation the results of a survey intended to establish the priorities and capacity building needs of African countries concerning AI. The countries responding the survey requested support for standard-setting, policy advise, capacity building, network development and for addressing gender equality related concerns in the development and use of AI. Link to the survey report Link to video 14:50 – 15:30 (CEST) – UNESCO Member States and IRCAI – From Needs Assessment to Action (panel session) Discussion to be led by Lenart Kucic, independent journalist Evelyne Rodrigues, Innovation 4 policy Foundation Renée Cummings, Criminologist, AI Ethicist, Data Activist in Residence, School of Data Science, University of Virginia Adriana Bora, The Future Society The panel will discuss how policy needs to come into action and what are the tangible results of such a scenario. We understand via the UNESCO assessment report that there is a need to levelized the potential benefits and risks of the AI technologies and research which is not equally distributed across regions of the world. As a category 2 center under the auspices of UNESCO, IRCAI wishes to benefit from the survey findings and partner with UNESCO to expand similar effort in other geographical constituencies of UNESCO, namely across Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) and use the experience of the panel in thinking about how to push commitment into action. Link to video5 min break
15:35 – 15:55 (CEST) – IRCAI Ethics – from Commitments to Action (presentations) Analysis of 6 Regional Consultations on the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI Neil Butcher, IRCAI affiliate UNESCO is working to harness opportunities in its fields of competence and has been leading reflections around pressing concerns related to AI’s rapid development, from a Human Rights and Ethics perspective. IRCAI has produced an analysis of the feedback of all UNESCO Member States on the draft Recommendation, including leading the East European. Link to video IRCAI Ethics and Regulation Katherine Evans, IRCAI affiliate Gregor Strojin, President CAHAI, Ad Hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence, Council of Europe During 2020, IRCAI Programme Committees authored an Opinion Series. One report explores the question of the ethical uniqueness of emerging artificial intelligence which has not only received global interest, but also requires an urgent and global response. Through our experts we give an insight into the work in ethics, trustworthiness, bias, in a number of international organizations such as UNESCO, OECD, Council of Europe. Link to the report Link to presentation Link to video5 min break
16:00 – 16:25 (CEST) – IRCAI Datasets – from Citizen Science to African languages (presentations) Cracking the Language Barrier for a Multilingual Africa- Low Resource African Languages Kathleen Siminyu, Regional Coordinator, AI4D Africa IRCAI together with Knowledge 4 All Foundation is working in the framework of UNESCOs MLA 2 Building knowledge societies through ICTs by enabling universal access to, and preservation of, information and knowledge, where UNESCO, IDRC, and GIZ support a Fellowship for Low Resource African Languages in order to develop datasets and strengthen capacities and innovation potential by creating data challenges. Link to the project Link to video Ethics in action Blaz Zupan, IRCAI industrial partner IRCAI is working with the University of Ljubljana on the citizen science aspect of AI training with Orange, a machine learning and data mining suite for data analysis through Python scripting and visual programming. Here we report on introducing and designing new features in the system enabling ethical components that are based and suggested in the UNESCO Recommendation in Ethics of AI. Orange is being used by experienced users and programmers, as well as for students of data mining. Link to the website Link to video5 min break
16:30 – 16:55 (CEST) – IRCAI Funding and Innovation Programme (presentations) Social Impact Bonds Daniel Miodovnik, Social Finance IRCAI AI Social Impact Bonds: the Center will introduce the idea of the social impact bond as a mechanism for quick and effective governmental investment in AI companies coming from research. Link to video AI policies around the world Mark Minevich, IRCAI Chief Digital Strategist Whilst IRCAI is involved in research backing UNESCO and other IGO publications, and its own data driven analytics platform, it also has via its Business Council an insight into industrial perspectives on which governments are leading in their rollout and infrastructure development in AI to enable different stakeholders in createing an effective AI sector. Link to video AI Global Observatory Marko Grobelnik, CTO at IRCAI IRCAI plan is to build “SDG Observatory”, an online system to observe UN SDG indicators along diverse dimensions: through media, academia, economy and other data sources to complement the official SDG classification. The goal is to provide an accurate up-to-date picuture of what is the status of SDGs, how they interrelate and where they evolve. Link to video 16:55 – 17:00 (CEST) – Launch of AI in Africa: State of Play Patti Kachidza, IRCAI affiliate The paper is one of the reports in the AI4D Africa programme. Its focus has been to review the state of play of AI technologies in Africa in the areas of innovation, capacity building, policy, and infrastructure. After describing the state of play, it invites all African stakeholders and calls them to action to focus on the key activities required for Africa to position itself to better harness responsible AI technologies to tackle some of its critical challenges, and even become a leadingvoice on steering the African AI agenda. Link to the report Link to video 17:00 – 17:05 (CEST) – Concluding remarks Prof. John Shawe-Taylor, Executive Director, IRCAI Link to videoCONSULTATION 2020
MONDAY, 27th JULY
TUESDAY, 28th JULY
WEDNESDAY, 29th JULY
SCIENCE AND INNOVATION DIALOGUES
EDUCATION AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: “AI-ENRICHED TEACHING AND LEARNING”
Benedict du Boulay is an Emeritus Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Sussex, Visiting Professor at University College London and Senior Research Advisor at Educate Ventures. He was the founding Dean of the School of Science and Technology at Sussex that involved bringing four departments who had not worked together before into the new School.
His primary research area is the application of Artificial Intelligence in Education. Here he is particularly interested in issues around modelling and developing students’ metacognition and motivation. He is currently compiling and editing a Handbook of AI in Education for Edward Elgar Publishing involving contributions from the leading academics in AIED from around the world.
He was President (2015-2017) of the International Society for Artificial Intelligence in Education and is an Associate Editor of its International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education. He has edited/written 12 books and written some 190 papers.
Roundtable Speakers:Prof Mária Bieliková, Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies (Slovakia)
Maria conducts research focusing on human-computer interaction analysis, user modelling and personalization. Recently, she has been working in data analysis and modelling of antisocial behavior on the web. She is active in discussions on trustworthy AI at the national and European levels. For example, she is a former member of the High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence established by the European Commission. Currently she is a chair of the Permanent Committee for Ethics and Regulation of AI established by the Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatization of the Slovak Republic. She was also a member of the European Commission Joint Research Center Board of Governors. Before her work at KInIT, Maria was employed at the Slovak University of Technology for more than 30 years — 15 as a full professor, lead of the Personalized Web research group and director of the User eXperience and Interaction research center. She is a former dean of the Faculty of Informatics and Information Technologies. She mentored talented students and participated in various international competitions, advancing several times to the world finals.
Prof Hassan Charaf, Dean of Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics at Budapest University of Technology (Hungary)
Hassan Charaf is an internationally recognised specialist in the development of mobile applications, a promoter of the widespread use of IT developments, a shaper of meaningful collaboration between industry and higher education, and a committed advocate of development-oriented and student-centred IT education
Hassan graduated in electrical engineering from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in 1992, his scientific, development and teaching activities are related to software development. His professional and academic career has been marked by a constant search for and finding of a balance between the quality of solutions to practical problems and the professional motivation of new generations of students, and the output of competitive knowledge from universities, and his career has been marked by the combination of industrial challenges and education. He has led a series of software projects, ranging from leading domestic IT companies through SME-s to foreign partners, setting up dual PhD programmes.
Dr Marek Kozłowski, Head of the Natural Language Processing Laboratory at National Information Processing Institute (Poland)
Marek Kozłowski is the Head of the Laboratory of Natural Language Processing at the National Information Processing Institute in Warsaw, where he leads a team of over 30 researchers and programmers who develop software that is enriched with intelligent (primarily text and image) data processing methods. He is passionate about natural language processing, data mining, and machine learning. He has written over 40 scientific publications on semantic text processing and machine learning. Marek has participated in commercial machine learning research projects for the private sector, including at Samsung, France Telecom, Orange Labs, Millward Brown, Vive Textile Recycling, and Connectis. He has also competed in a host of international machine learning events, including the IEEE BigData 2019 Cup.
Dr Ajda Pretnar Žagar, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia)
Ajda Pretnar is researcher at the Laboratory for Bioinformatics, Faculty of Computer and Information Science, University of Ljubljana, and at the Institute for Contemporary History in Ljubljana. She holds a PhD in anthropology. Her research focuses on the methodology of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research as well as the uses of machine learning and data mining in the humanities and social sciences. She holds workshops and courses on data mining and machine learning.
Vesselin Russinov, Foundation “STEM Education”, Robotika Academy (Bulgaria)
Vesselin has been teaching robotics and programming for the past 11 years and he is still amazed! He has education in Computer science, professional experience as a Software developer and is the co-founder and educator at three amazing STEM academies in Bulgaria! His students are from 5 up to 19 years old and the diversity of education solutions gives Vesselin the opportunity to talk to each and every class individually and according to their age! AI is the “hot topic” and as such it is important to talk to the students in understandable terms and give them the chance to dream and develop their own ideas and solutions!
Dr Kairit Tammets, Centre for Educational Technologies of Tallinn University (Estonia)
Kairit Tammets is the professor in Technology-enhanced Learning at the Centre for Educational Technology, Tallinn University. She is focusing in her research on scaffolding teachers in adopting the technology-enhanced learning practices and the role of AI-mediated technologies in teacher professional development. Currently Kairit is coordinating two large projects: EU-funded iHub4Schools to propose a mentoring model for accelerating digital innovation in schools and Estonian Personal Research Grant to develop model-based Learning Analytics infrastructure for fostering the development of students’ higher-order thinking skills. In this research the aim is to explore the interplay between AI-enhanced learning technologies, teacher professional development and students’ deeper learning experience. Kairit has been part of the development of several learning technologies and based on those published tens of research papers.
Moderator: Susan WattsSusan is an award-winning journalist and communicator. She is a writer and speaker on STEM subjects in their political and social context. Most recently, as Head of Communications, she worked with leadership teams of two of the UK’s leading research institutes on strategy, media operations and outreach programmes (Rothamsted Research and the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences). She also advised on the strategy to 2030 of plant charity /Plantlife/. Susan was moderator of the inaugural series of online “Dialogues” on the science of the Covid pandemic for the British Council and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office In 2021.
Susan is a director of the Scottish Association for Marine Science in Oban, and a physics graduate of Imperial College London. She was at the forefront of science and technology journalism in the UK for nearly two decades on the BBC’s /Newsnight/ programme (1995-2013) where, as Science Editor, she helped to shape some of the most significant national debates. Website: https://www.susanwatts.org/
THE ROLE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE
WORLD SERIES EVENTS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Event: Launch of IRCAI 2022 Call for TOP 100 international list of AI solutions in SDGs and new UNESCO Global SDG Innovation Framework for AI innovation in pursuing SDGs
Location: Live Digital Event
Event: High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF)
Side event: Launch of IRCAI 2022 Call for TOP 100 international list of AI solutions in SDGs and new UNESCO Global SDG Innovation Framework for AI innovation in pursuing SDGs
Date: July 5 2022, 7:30 AM – 9.00 AM (ET), 12:30 PM London (GMT+1:00), 09:30 PM Tokyo (GMT+9:00)
Host: Hosted by IRCAI and Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the UN.
Download PDF Invitation-> The Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the UN and the International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence under the auspices of UNESCO (IRCAI), together with UNESCO, are organizing a side event at 2022 HLPF focused on launching the new call for TOP 100 best in AI and SDGs, based on an upgraded methodology released in partnership with UNESCO in new framework for evaluating artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives to tackle sustainable development goals (SDGs). AGENDA 7:30 – 7:45 ET Opening and Introduction 3 minutes each- Saša Jurečko, Deputy Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the UN
- Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, UNESCO
- Matjaž Krajnc, State Secretary at Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia
- Samuel Žbogar, State Secretary at Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia
- John Shawe-Taylor, Director IRCAI
- Vian Sharif, NatureAlpha founder (Outstanding category of the Global 2021 call)
- Prateek Sibal, Programme Specialist, Digital Innovation and Transformation Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO
- Tommaso Balbo di Vinadio, SciencesPo and the Paris College of Arts
- Katie Evans, Lead analyst IRCAI
- Massimo Preziuso, Chair of Business and Impact Council IRCAI
- Davor Orlic, Chief Operations Officer IRCAI
- A virtual Press Conference will be organised by IRCAI after the event (a separate link for that will be provided) for a more in-depth discussion with IRCAI and UNESCO representatives.
Event: Launching a Global Network of AI Excellence Centres in Sustainable Development
Location: Live Digital Event
Host: STI Forum – 7th Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals
Date: 4 May 2022, 9:00 AM – 10.30 AM (ET), 02:00 PM London (GMT+1:00), 10:00 PM Tokyo (GMT+9:00)
Hosted by IRCAI and Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the UN, co-sponsored by Permanent Mission of Japan to the UN and Permanent Mission of South Africa to the UN
Description
The Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the UN and the International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence under the auspices of UNESCO (IRCAI) are organizing a side event launching a Global Network of Excellence Centres in artificial intelligence (AI) for sustainable development goals (SDGs).
AGENDA
9:00 – 9:10 ET Opening and Introduction 3 minutes each
- Ambassador Boštjan Malovrh, Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the UN
- Ambassador Tetsuya Kimura, Permanent Representative of Japan to the UN
- Tshilidzi Marwala, Vice Chancellor and Principal, University of Johannesburg
- Marielza Oliveira, Director for Partnerships and Operational Programme Monitoring, Communications and Information Sector, UNESCO
9:10 – 9:15 ET Keynote
- Maria Fasli, UNESCO Chair in Analytics and Data Science, Executive Dean, Faculty of Science and Health at University of Essex
9:15 – 9:20 ET Introduction into the Network
- John Shawe-Taylor, Director IRCAI
9:20 – 10:30 ET Flash talks presenting the history, aim, objectives, composition, activities, programmes, and technology focus of the Network 3 minutes each
Network portfolio and history
- Samuel Kaski, Aalto University, ELISE Network Coordinator
- Paul Lukowicz, DFKI, HumaneAI Network Coordinator
Network as a catalyst for research and innovation
- Matthew Smith, Senior Program Specialist, IDRC
- Nelson González, Head Global Impact Computing, AWS
Network solutions and evidence of impact in real-life
- Kathleen Siminyu, Machine Learning Fellow, Mozilla Foundation
- Nuria Oliver, ELLIS Unit Alicante Foundation
Network connecting worldwide communities of practice
- Ulrich Paquet, Deep Learning Indaba, DeepMind
- Nuria Oliver, ELLIS Unit Alicante Foundation
Network reach across all UN regions
- Alexandre F. Barbosa, Director Cetic
- Emmanuel Letouzé, Director Data-Pop Alliance
10.30 – 10:50 A virtual Press Conference will be organised after the event with speakers available for questions:
- John Shawe-Taylor, Director IRCAI
- Emmanuel Letouzé, Director Data-Pop Alliance
SIDE EVENT: "FROM COMMITMENT TO ACTION – PRESENTING AI SOLUTIONS FOR THE SDGs"
Location: online
Date: 18 February, 9.00-10.15 (ET)
The event will also be streamed on YouTube channel of IRCAI: Link to stream
The Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the UN and the International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence under the auspices of UNESCO (IRCAI) are organizing a side event focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and solutions this technology can provide for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
AI holds the potential to serve humankind and to bring benefits to individuals, countries and businesses. Furthermore, AI can also help tackle social, economic and environmental challenges: poverty, climate change and inequality. As such, it can contribute to the efforts of the global community to attain sustainable development goals.
The International Research Center Artificial Intelligence is a new Category 2 centre under the auspices of UNESCO and the only one directly focused on Artificial Intelligence. It’s associated through formal arrangements approved by the UNESCO General Conference and is committed to engage in supporting UNESCO’s strategic programme objectives. IRCAI is partially directly funded by the Republic of Slovenia where it is located, but its scope and reach are global.
IRCAI functions as a Network of institutions and experts across the world, and a clearinghouse for relevant global AI projects. It is available to provide an open and transparent dialogue that, in addition to research on AI, by specifically addressing SDGs through AI technologies, and discussions in the AI field, can provide policy support to stakeholders around the world, action plans and research roadmaps in the field of AI.
The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Slovenia to the UN has been working closely with IRCAI since its inception and we intend to organise a series of events also this year.
Our activities come after IRCAI has successfully co-organized 13 events in close cooperation with Slovenian diplomatic representations in 12 countries last year, in the World Series Events on AI.
This event will, among other, focus on presentation of key advances in AI technology for SDGs, on the state-of-the-art AI to leverage opportunities for energy efficiency in energy-intensive industries, re-engineering for the way societies produce and consume and on improved technology to effectively achieve the SDGs.
The solutions are part of the IRCAI Global Top 100, a list of the top 100 projects solving problems related to the 17 sustainable development goals from all around the world. These are the initial cohort of the Accelerator that IRCAI will be setting up in 2022.
AGENDA
9:00 – 9:15 ET – Introduction and Welcome
Opening and Introduction
• Ambassador Boštjan Malovrh, Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the UN
• Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, UNESCO
• Maria-Francesca Spatolisano Acting Envoy, Office of the Secretary General’s Envoy on Technology
Keynote Speech
• Ambassador Collen Vixen Kelapile, Permanent Representative of Botswana to the UN, President of ECOSOC
Presentation of the current work and plans of the IRCAI Centre
• John Shawe-Taylor, Director IRCAI
09:20 – 9:50 ET- Presentations of tangible real-life use of AI in solving sustainable development challenges (TOP100 projects)
Introduction:
• Massimo Preziuso, Chair of Business and Impact Council IRCAI
Speakers and outstanding projects, 3 minutes each:
• Bertie Vidgen, Rewire (SDG 5, 9, 16)
• Angela Jorns, ASMSpotter (SDG 12, 15)
• Catherine Nakalembe, NASA Harvest (SDG 1, 2, 10, 13, 15, 17)
• Jonas Gramse, FAIR Forward – Artificial Intelligence for All (SDG 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 13, 17)
• Lyric Jain, Logically Intelligence (SDG 16)
• Vian Sharif, NatureAlpha Biodiversity & nature metrics platform (SDG 6, 13, 14, 15, 17)
• Vincenzo Di Nicola, An AI-powered classification email system to help the Italian Public Administration to better serve citizens (SDG 8, 9)
• Ulrich Scharf, SkillLab (SDG 1, 4, 8, 10)
• Mohammed Ashour, Novel Application of Advanced Manufacturing Approaches to High Quality Protein (SDG 2, 3, 9, 12, 13, 17)
9:50 – 9:55 ET – Wrap up of the Top 100 session and AI Award announcement
• Davor Orlic, Chief Operations Officer IRCAI: announcing the TOP 100 list analysis and report and AI awardee Adriana Eufrosina Bora, Researcher at QUT
9:55 – 10:15 ET – Q & A session, interventions from the floor
Moderated by Ambassador Boštjan Malovrh, Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the UN
10:15 ET – Closing of the event
A virtual Press Conference will be organised by IRCAI after the event (a separate link for that will be provided) for a more in depth discussion with Outstanding project presenters and IRCAI representatives.
Event: AI and future of work
Location: Berlin, Germany
Artificial intelligence is gaining ground in many areas of our operations as an important element. We are also increasingly confronted with artificial intelligence in the world of work. Artificial intelligence is no longer the future, but the present, as many employers around the world use a variety of technological solutions on a daily basis in both the public and private sectors. However, artificial intelligence in the world of work raises not only questions about technological solutions, but also many others. Even with the increased use of artificial intelligence, we face similar dilemmas as with any technological revolution – not only the fear of technological unemployment, but also the aspect of knowledge and competencies that workers need with new technologies. The use of different technologies based on the use of artificial intelligence is thus not only a technological and economic but also a social issue. That is why dialogue is necessary: both between the social partners and in societies in general. In order for artificial intelligence to contribute to the well-being of all, we need appropriate public policies and investment to strengthen investment in people and their skills to make it easier to take advantage of the opportunities offered by (technological) changes in the world of work.
Event 1: AI and Decarbonizing Construction
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date: Live-streaming will begin at 18:30 BST, 30 June 2021
This webinar is hosted by Carbon Re together with the UNESCO International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI), in association with London Climate Action Week and with the generous support of HumaneAI-Net.
According to the Climate Change Committee, greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing and construction were 66 MtCO2 in 2018 – 12% of the UK total. If there is a lesson from the pandemic it is that we need to multiply our efforts to mitigate climate change, if we are to avoid economic, social and political disaster. Yet, we can’t achieve net zero goals without decarbonizing manufacturing and construction. We need to tackle the hard problems today. This means industrial policies, R&D funding, business support and innovation that accelerate the zero-carbon transition needed to address these challenges.
Join us to hear from world leading experts in AI, business and policy discussing current applications and high-potential use cases.
AGENDA
Introduction by
Simona Leskovar Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Keynote speech by Professor John Shawe-Taylor
Professor John Shawe-Taylor is the UNESCO Chair in AI, and Director of the International Research Center on Artificial Intelligence under the auspices of UNESCO
Followed by a panel discussion with
Sana Khareghani, Head of Office for Artificial Intelligence
The Office for AI is a joint unit between Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Jade Cohen, Co-Founder and CPO at Qualis Flow
Qualis Flow works with construction teams to enable them to track and manage their social and environmental impact, and take a data driven approach to improving that impact.
Mark Enzer OBE, CTO of Mott MacDonald and Head of the National Digital Twin Programme at the Centre for Digital Built Britain
The Centre for Digital Built Britain is a partnership between the BEIS and the University of Cambridge. It seeks to understand how the construction and infrastructure sectors can use a digital approach to better design, build, operate and integrate the built environment.
Professor Aidan O’Sullivan is Co-Founder and CTO at Carbon Re, Associate Professor in Energy and AI at the UCL Energy Institute and Programme Chair for AI and Climate Change at the International Research Center on Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI) under the auspices of UNESCO.
Event 2: AI and development
Subtitle: Data economy: human-centric approach at the forefront
Date: 16.00 CET, 22 September, 2021
Location: Geneva, Switzerland and online
Registration is free and can be done through this link: https://www.giplatform.org/events/data-economy-human-centric-approach-forefront.
The European Union Delegation to the United Nations in Geneva, the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in Geneva, the Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the UN Office and other international organisations in Geneva in capacity as Presidency of the Council of the EU, and the Geneva Internet Platform invite you to a series of dialogues – From Geneva: Reflections on digital future – on issues of importance for the Geneva and global audiences. Linked to International Geneva as a global digital policy hub, the dialogues focus on priority issues around current developments, including the recent process of the UN Secretary’s General Roadmap for Digital Cooperation.
The new data era is just starting. Our approach towards handling data today will set the direction of our digital future. To inspire organisations to create value and positively contribute to shaping the future of society, we look into the data economy – what it means for countries, companies, and citizens. In the spirit of the human-centric approach, protecting privacy and data management practices should not impede innovation and economic growth.
The following questions will be explored:
- Rethinking the data supply chain: how to provide a trusted, fair, and innovative data economy;
- How to approach a perceived trade-off between the data potential and the protection of individual rights?
- Engaging citizens: How can we move from users to becoming active digital citizens?
- What roles for governments, civil society and the private sector?
AGENDA
Speakers:
Dr Maja Bogataj Jančič, Co-Chair of the Data Governance Working Group, Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence
Ms Lene Wendland, Chief, Business and Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Ambassador Thomas Schneider, Head of International Relations at the Federal Office for Communications of Switzerland (OFCOM)
Mr Paul-Olivier Dehaye, PersonalData.io, MyData.org, Hestia.AI
Mr Pascal Marmier, Secretary General, Economy of Trust Foundation, SICPA
Event 3: AI and Environment
Subtitle: Digitalisation powering environmental protection
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Date: 14 October, 2021
The European Union Delegation to the United Nations in Geneva, the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in Geneva, the Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the UN in Geneva (currently holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU), and the Geneva Internet Platform, in partnership with the International Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI) invite you to a series of dialogues – From Geneva: Reflections on digital future – on issues of importance for the Geneva and global audiences. Our next dialogue, on 14 October 2021, is on Digitalisation powering environmental protection.
The digital revolution is changing the way we work, live, and solve challenges. New technologies offer ground-breaking opportunities for environmental protection and climate action. For example, AI can strengthen climate predictions, enable smarter decision-making for decarbonising industries, and anticipate the effects of extreme weather.
As we strive for digital economies that will put people at the heart, foster international development, and protect human rights and freedoms, we also need a better understanding of the environmental footprint of our economic development, including ICT’s growing carbon footprint.
The UN Secretary General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation warns that operations related to ICT are expected to represent up to 20% of the world’s demand for electricity. One third stems from data centres alone.
In our dialogue, we will therefore ask, how can we truly benefit from the technology’s environmental solutions and use the digital revolution to advance environmental stewardship? How can we appropriately harness digital opportunities while limiting adverse effects of digitalisation on the environment? How can we build strong partnerships among regions to support digital transition that powers environmental protection across the globe?
AGENDA
Moderator
Tereza Horejsova, Projects and Partnerships Director, Diplo
Speakers:
Ilias Iakovidis, Advisor, Green digital transformation, DG CONNECT, European Commission
David Jensen, Coordinator of the Digital Transformation Task Force at the United Nations Environment Programme
Mitja Jermol, Program Committee Chair in AI and Circular Economy, International Research Centre for AI
Reyna Ubeda, Project Officer, International Telecomunication Union
Flurina Wäspi, Coordinator IGF Policy Network on Environment and Digitalisation
Event 4: AI and art
Subtitle: The Future of Living
Location: Brussells, Belgium
Date: 19 – 20 October, 2021
No one can predict the future of society in coexistence with machines, but it should beclear that our future will be much more predictable if we responsibly decide todaywhat kind of future we want. You can be part of the reflection on AI together withartists and researchers. Join the debate during our 2-days Symposium The Future of Living on 19 – 20 October 2021 at Bozar, Brussels.
This two-day multidisciplinary conference and hack-a-deux on the impact of artificialintelligence and art on life is prepared by fourteen members of the Brussels EUNICcluster, led by Slovenia, in cooperation with BozarLab. The conference aims to raise theprofile of the contribution of art and science, research and innovation, and their actorsto the quality of life in the present and the new European Bauhaus.
The conference is curated by Jurij Krpan (Kapelica Gallery, SI) and Pau Waelder (PT).Be part of the future by visiting https://thefutureofliving.eu and you will be intrigued byAI waiting to have a dialogue with you!
Programme and tickets at https://www.bozar.be/en/calendar/symposium-future-living.
Event 5: AI and climate change
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Date: 26 October, 2021
The panel discussion will provide insight into the application of artificial intelligence to combat climate change, build resilience and reduce the vulnerability of all societies to the impacts of climate change, and highlight the opportunities that artificial intelligence can provide in the collective effort to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions. The panel discussion, which is expected to be virtual, will bring together the fields of climate change and artificial intelligence, the use of artificial intelligence and applied technologies to combat climate change across disciplines. Experts in the field of artificial intelligence, climatology and climate change will participate in the panel discussion.
Event Report:
World Series on AI Event Report: AI for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
Event 6: AI and public health
Subtitle: Harnessing AI’s Power for Health
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Date: 3 November, 2021
New technologies have had a revolutionary impact on healthcare since the early 1990s. At first complex, costly and limited process developed into an advanced, assimilated and mainstream support of the society with a remarkable value for our health.
From monitoring the impact of policies on population health to technologies that allow people to manage their healthy habits, from mobile health (mHealth) to wearable devices, from telehealth to telemedicine, the power of computing platforms, rapidly developing software and increasing connectivity serve the humankind to improve our lives.
With the use of robotics in healthcare, utilization of machine-learning techniques and software and spread of sophisticated tools that harness the power of AI, the AI is transforming the healthcare sector and the future of public health. As data, analytics and AI drive innovation across the sectors, COVID-19 pandemic additionally triggered acceleration of modelling and predicting demands and solutions, both for diagnosing and for drug development. Intellectual property laws will have to find a way to adapt in order to enable innovation and protect future developments and investments.
At the same time, education, investment, multiplication of effects, equal distribution and development that takes into account safety and security of the citizens are some of the crucial activities that we as a society must undertake when it comes to the AI and the future of health. How can we reach long-lasting results? How can we harness the power of AI for public health and reduce the risks related to the use of new technologies? How can we make sure that developing countries benefit from the rapid technological development equally and meaningfully? What are the implications of the new technologies in the field of intellectual property?
AGENDA
Moderator
Tereza Hojserova, Geneva Internet Platform
Speakers
Amandeep Singh Gill, CEO and Director of Digital Health & AI Research Collaborative (I-DAIR)
Dr Vida Groznik, Researcher, University of Ljubljana; Assistant professor, University of Primorska; CEO NeusDiagnostics
Catherine Holloway, Professor and Academic Director, Global Disability Innovation Hub at UCL, PC Chair in AI and Assistive Technologies at IRCAI
Dr Andreas Alois Reis, Co-Lead of the Global Health Ethics Team in the Division of the Chief Scientist, World Health Organization
Ulrike Till, Director, Frontier technologies, on AI and IP, World Intellectual Property Organization
Event Report:
World Series on AI Event Report: Harnessing AI’s Power for Health
Event 7: AI and robotics for smart society 5.0
Subtitle: Promoting a Smart Society 5.0 through AI and Robotics
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Date: 11 November, 2021
Slovenia has put forward many advanced solutions, using artificial intelligence and robotics, for the implementation and creation of a smart society 5.0. We would like to introduce some examples of close collaboration with Japan in the fields of art, industry and in policies in general. Japanese technology group Yaskawa has officially opened its new robot production facility with European robotics development centre in Slovenia in 2019. Slovenian artist Maša Jazbec from DDTLab carried out scientific and artistic experiments of interpersonal interactions together with the Laboratory of Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro (and is now collaborating with Yaskawa on projects of creative robotics.
Hitachi is collaborating in the implementation of a smart city, creating smart electricity grids in a few Slovenian cities University Rehabilitation Center Soča from Slovenia is cooperating with Toyota and the University Fujita in the field of rehabilitation robotics.
UNESCO International Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI), established in 2020 in Slovenia is seeking partnerships with international organizations, governments, companies, NGOs, universities, research institutes, AI consortia and government agencies also in Japan.
In the future, Slovenia would like to enhance cooperation with Japan and explore potential in AI and robotics further.
AGENDA
18:45 – 18:50
Pre-recorded speech by H.E. Minister for Digital Transformation of Slovenia, Mr. Mark Boris Andrijanič
18:50 – 18:55
Speech by Vice Minister for Digital Policy, Digital Agency of Japan, Mr. Koichi Akaishi
19:00 – 19:10
Speech by the Distinguished Professor at Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, Osaka University, Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro
19:10 – 19:15
Video by Head of DDT Lab, Dr. Maša Jazbec
19:15 – 19:20
Video presenting activities of IRCAI
Pre-recorded speech by Director of UNESCO International Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI ), Prof. Dr. John Shawe Taylor
Event 8: AI and global policy
Location: OECD, Paris, France
On April 21, 2021, the EU Commission adopted the AI Regulation, a proposal for a regulation on “artificial intelligence systems” (AI systems), which it describes as “the first ever legal framework on AI.” The AI Regulation will impose significant obligations impacting businesses across many, if not all, sectors of the economy. The combination of the first-ever legal framework on AI and a new Coordinated Plan with Member States will guarantee the safety and fundamental rights of people and businesses, while strengthening AI uptake, investment and innovation across the EU. (Characteristics of future risks, technological approach and demands, different dimensions of risks).
Event 9: AI and R&D strategies
Subtitle: Israel / Slovenia Roundtable
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
Date: 25 November, 2021
Time:11AM GMT+2 / 10AM CET
A round table on artificial intelligence and research and development strategies will be held in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Ministries of Innovation, Science and Technology and Foreign Affairs, the Israeli Innovation Authority, Tel Aviv University – Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center and the International Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI), Slovenia.
Hosted by Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the State of Israel, Andreja Purkart Martinez
AGENDA
Opening Remarks
Minister Mark Boris Andrijanič, Minister for Digital Transformation, Republic of Slovenia
Minister Orit Farkash Hacohen, Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, State of Israel
Welcome Address
Ziv Katzir, Head of the National Program for AI Infrastructure, Israel Innovation Authority
Keynote
Major General (Ret) Professor Isaac Ben-Israel, Director Blavatnik ICRC, Tel Aviv University – A glabal perspective to fostering AI
Academic Perspective
Marko Grobelnik, Digital Champion of Slovenia, European Commission; Researcher, AI Lab @ Jozef Stefan Institute
Industry Perspective
Dr. Blaž Fortuna, CEO and Co-founder at Qlector
Yorai Fainmesser, General Partner at Disruptive AI Venture Capital, Artificial Intelligence strategic expert
CONTACT
International Research Centre
on Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI)
under the auspices of UNESCO
Jožef Stefan Institute
Jamova cesta 39
SI-1000 Ljubljana
info@ircai.org
ircai.org
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