HORTA – About 150 experts from around the world are in Faial, Azores, debating about the present and future of artificial science.
“I am very proud to see the island where I was born become an epicenter of interdisciplinary debate on the future of artificial intelligence, an area to which I have dedicated my research,” said Dr. Nuno Moniz, a professor at the University of Notre Dame, who is coordinating the event.
Holder of a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Porto, Moniz joined the University of Notre Dame in August 2022 as an Associate Research Professor at the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society. In March 2023, he was named the Associate Director of the Data, Inference, Analysis, and Learning (DIAL) Lab.
“The main objective of the event is to promote discussion among our colleagues: science is made up of encounters and disagreements, exposure to other ideas and points of view,” Dr. Moniz told O Jornal. “That’s what we’re betting on with this event, in the hope that it will serve as a starting point for new collaborations and research programs.”
Organized by the Portuguese Association for Artificial Intelligence (APPIA), the event is taking place from Sept. 5 to 8, featuring 17 panel discussions on a wide variety of topics, ranging from ethics and responsibility in the development of artificial intelligence to its application in the arts and creativity.
In addition to Dr. Moniz, the U.S. delegation includes several representatives from Carnegie Mellon University, and Prof. Nitesh Chawla from the University of Notre Dame is one of the keynote speakers.
“The potential of artificial intelligence is immense, and it is precisely its application, in the most diverse areas, that could bring important innovations, with the potential to help solve society’s urgent problems, such as the sustainability of our oceans,” said Dr. Moniz.
This is the second time the Azores is the host of the Portuguese conference on artificial intelligence. Ten years ago, Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, served as the stage for a similar event.
Some Lusa material used in this report
