(1) The Future of AI: Opportunities and Pitfalls for the Application of AI in Belgium/Europe

Description

This session gave an overview of the state of the art and current challenges in artificial intelligence. It analysed Belgian and European positions regarding the raise of these technologies. Keynote was followed by a panel discussion with multidisciplinary views on AI: ethical, philosophical, societal, legal and economical.

Speakers

• Luc Steels
• Jeremy Lamri
• Laurent Hublet
• Nicolas Van Zeebroeck
• Celine Thillou
• Hugues Bersini
• Sofia Palmieri

(2) How Can AI Improve Access to Justice ? Current Status and the Federal AI Hackathon 2023 Challenge

Description

Access to justice is one of the major current societal challenges. Many solutions based on artificial intelligence are being developed in Europe and beyond in order to tackle it and facilitate access to justice. This panel discussed the solutions already implemented or under development and their advantages and limitations. Eventually, the Federal Hackathon 2023 challenge for justice would be unveiled.

Speakers

• Gregory Lewkowicz
• Genevieve Vanderstichele
• Marco Giacalone

(3) Asimov Revisited: Rethinking Robots Rights

Description

Isaac Asimov was a visionary science fiction writer, who explored early on the ethical implications of advanced technology, particularly with regard to robots and AI. He might be best known for his “Three Laws of Robotics”. The session “Asimov Revisited: Rethinking Robots Rights” directly connects to Asimov’s work, particularly his exploration of the relationship between humans and robots, and the ethical implications of creating intelligent machines. The workshop will examine the ethical and moral responsibility issues surrounding hybrid forms of intelligence that mix biology and artificial systems, much like Asimov’s explorations of intelligent robots that could think and act like humans. By revisiting Asimov’s ideas and expanding upon them, the workshop will contribute to ongoing discussions about the development of AI and the role it plays in society.

Central questions included:

• How does your past or current work connect to the topic of ethics of hybrid intelligences?
• What are major issues at play? How can the development of hybrid forms of intelligence, mixing AI with biological components (including humans), impact the current understanding of AI rights and legal innovations in that respect?
• What specific regulations or guidelines can ensure that hybrid forms of intelligence are developed and utilized in a responsible manner?

The session focused on the ethical and legal responsibility challenges connected to hybrid forms of intelligence, those which integrate biological and artificial systems, with an open-ended discussion, both in-person and on Zoom, with panelists giving short pitches addressing these questions about their work and the major issues surrounding the ethical and legal challenges of hybrid intelligence, challenges or evolved, both in the immediate and long term future. The discussion explored how the development of such hybrid forms of intelligence may impact the current understanding of AI rights and legal innovations, as well as regulations or guidelines that can ensure responsible development and utilization.

Speakers

• Olaf Witkowski
• Gregory Lewkowicz
• Tony Belpaeme
• Katsunori Miyahara

(4) Policy Prototyping the AI Act: Transparency Requirements

Description

During this session, the Knowledge Centre Data & Society presented their next policy prototyping exercise in the data and AI field. They briefly explained the concept of policy prototyping and discuss last year’s exercise. They then described how they intend to develop prototypes regarding the transparency requirements under the AI Act this year and launch a call for interest to participate. In case you are developing a data-based or AI-product, or if you have specific expertise in making technology transparent, this session may be of particular interest to you.

Speakers

• Thomas Gils
• Wannes Ooms
• Frederic Heymans
• Rob Heyman
• Jonne Van Belle

(5) All-Questions-Asked (AQuA): Impact of AI on our Mental Wellbeing

Description

During this session, the Knowledge Centre Data & Society presented their next policy prototyping exercise in the data and AI field. They briefly explained the concept of policy prototyping and discuss last year’s exercise. They then described how they intend to develop prototypes regarding the transparency requirements under the AI Act this year and launch a call for interest to participate. In case you are developing a data-based or AI-product, or if you have specific expertise in making technology transparent, this session may be of particular interest to you.

The relationship between AI and mental health is reciprocal and can be a double-edged sword: AI is now increasingly being used as a tool to help mental health researchers and clinicians in understanding how our brain functions. The use of neuroscience-inspired AI holds great promise in discovering new regimes for treatment, diagnosis, and prevention. At the same, we also often encounter real-world cases depicting how AI can affect our mental well-being, such as the case of addictive algorithms and how recommender systems can manipulate behaviours.

In this two-part online event, we explored these two sides of the coin:

Part 1: Webinar: AI as a tool for Mental Health, we dedicated 1.5 hours to discovering how AI transforms our understanding of brain functions and how it helps in psychiatric practices e.g. diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. We were joined by neuroscientists, psychiatrists, and AI developers to bring use cases and future applications.

Speakers

• Ana Maiques
• Giovanni Briganti
• Dr Kutoma Wakunuma
• Ricardo Chavarriaga

Part 2: All-Questions-Asked (AQuA event), we opened the floor for you to ask our multidisciplinary panel of experts about the link of online algorithms and recommender systems to our mental well-being, especially in this day and age where we interact with AI more often, unconsciously. In this AQuA forum, we tackled the ways by which algorithms (in social media and other platforms) impact us, our behaviours, our way of thinking, and some mental disorders associated with these everyday technologies.

Moderator: Hans de Canck

(6) FARI AI Academy Launch

Description

FARI, the Brussels AI Center for the Common Good, is a non-for-profit Artificial Intelligence initiative led by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). We bring together scientists, scholarship, policy makers and business enterprises interested in AI and the consequent developments related to infrastructure, services and devices that contribute to individual empowerment without disrupting the common good, thus leading the way into a more concrete elaboration of a European vision of AI.

Apart from our research mission, we also want to help build the next generation of responsible AI innovators. We are therefore proud to launch our FARI AI Academy, through which we will provide a range of training formats, from executive education and a postgraduate program to train the trainer modules and other customized formats that will not only help you understand the increasingly dynamic field of AI, but also will help you address AI challenges with a critical perspective.

Given our strong focus on public AI and sustainable AI, the training programs are geared mostly to challenges and needs in the public sector, research community and non-profit sector. The training programs will both be available for mixed groups in an “open academy” format and in “in house” formats tailored to specific industries, professions or organisations.

In this session, Karen Boers introduced the mission of FARI’s AI Academy and provide an overview of currently available trainings.

Speaker: Karen Boers

(7) AI, data and robotics for Brussels: Demos and Datawalk

Description

In celebration of both the AI Week and the WeKONEKT Week, FARI contributed in bringing AI closer to society by exposing young students to data and AI technologies in Brussels. The FARI Experience Day is two-part: first, we took them for a Datawalk – a guided Brussels tour where we show participants different data capture methods, usage, and impact to society. Next, we brought them to the FARI Test and Experience where they could discover and try out selected AI, data, and robotics demos being developed by our researchers.

 

 

 

(8)FARI AI Accelerator program by BUDA VUB

Description

During the workshop, participants got a chance to meet our team, connected with other like-minded entrepreneurs, and hear from guest speakers in the AI industry. They also got a sneak peek into our curriculum, which was designed to help you develop the skills and knowledge you need to succeed in the rapidly evolving world of AI.