Conference explores possibilities of AI while warning of upcoming risks

A conference on Artificial Intelligence has warned of the potential risks to humanity while also exploring the great benefits it will also bring. For the past year, Artificial Intelligence has seen an exponential growth in capability and popularity and a conference held in Donegal, looked at how society can best address this new technology.

The 31st Irish Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science (AICS 2023) hosted by Atlantic Technological University in collaboration with Ulster University on the 8 Dechong those speaking at the conference was Toju Duke, Founder of Diverse AI and a passionate advocate for Responsible AI. Toju is the author of “Building Responsible AI Algorithms: A Framework for Transparency, Fairness, Safety, Privacy, and Robustness”, a book that explores all of these important considerations.

Speaking to delegates, Toju said, "AI technologies are moving at breakneck speed and offer huge benefits, however, it is of great importance to test for societal and algorithmic risk and harm before during and after deployment.”

With the speed of AI development in the last few years, risk assessments are not always adhered to as major corporations compete to improve capabilities. Toju pointed out eight main challenges AI will bring to society including; disinformation, human rights and privacy violations and psychological safety.

She also accuses AI of creating social inequities as it can amplify stereotypes when creating images or text. It also brings danger or data leakages, not to mention the huge amount of energy needed to run Artificial Intelligence.

Dr Roisin Loughran, Manager of the Regulated Software Research Centre at Dundalk Institute of Technology also raised concerns of AI at the conference, "AI creates great possibilities for critical and non-critical domains, but also poses significant ethical challenges. Ethical considerations must be part of the design, not an afterthought. Big tech needs to get on board. We must all check our biases.”

Exploring the positive impact of AI, Salvatore Tedesco, Senior Researcher and Team Leader at the Wireless Sensor Networks Group, Tyndall National Institute, UCC said AI will solve many problems, "Despite some barriers to adoption, including low user acceptance and privacy concerns, AI is penetrating the wearable domain creating “true” smart and adaptive wearable devices offering compelling solutions to real-world challenges.”

AICS 2023 was also an opportunity for researchers from around the country to showcase the latest innovations, and fostering collaborative discussions that will shape the future of Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science. At the conference in Letterkenny, 47 research papers where shared by colleagues on all aspects of AI.

The conference celebrated outstanding contributions with the announcement of the AICS 2023 Prize Winners. The prizes were sponsored by Belleek Pottery and each of the winners were presented with a trophy in a ceremony at the end of the conference.

The Kay McNulty Best Paper Award was presented to Mallikharjuna Rao Sakhamuri, researcher at Atlantic Technological University. The paper which is co-authored by Dr Shagufta Henna, Dr Leo Creedon and Dr Kevin Meehan discussed using deep graph neural networks to classify innate immune response. Using Artificial Intelligence in the Healthcare domain is becoming very prevalent and this research explores the ability of a patient to fight off germs entering the body.

The Professor Paul McKevitt Memorial Award for Best Poster was awarded to James Garza, in their paper, titled “Reinforcement Learning for Stock Option Trading” they discuss the use of Artificial Intelligence to guide a human trader and identify patterns in financial data.

Speaking after the conference, co-organiser, Dr Kevin Meehan from ATU said, “AICS 2023 was not just a gathering of experts; it was a melting pot of ideas, and a catalyst for innovation. The synergy created during these two days will undoubtedly echo in the corridors of research and industry, driving advancements in AI and Cognitive Science.

As we reflect on the success of AICS 2023, we extend our gratitude to the participants, speakers, sponsors, and organisers for contributing to this exceptional event.”

For more information about this conference or the research papers presented, please contact: kevin.meehan@atu.ie

Aidan Haughey 
ATU Communications Manager /
Bainisteoir Cumarsáide OTA
Ollscoil Teicneolaíochta an Atlantaigh (OTA), Éire
Atlantic Technological University (ATU), Ireland       
Tel: +353 86 086 6913
www.atu.ie/communications