Yesterday saw the official launch event of AI@Southampton, the culmination of 10 days of AI-related activities as part of the .
Spearheaded by ,听聽is a new initiative at the University which will accelerate research, education and knowledge exchange in the rapidly evolving and exciting field of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The launch event saw Dame Wendy, Director of the , and both speak about the opportunities and excellence in AI-related research here at the University. There was a panel discussion with Southampton academics who delved deeper into some key questions around AI and the importance of interdisciplinarity and the future; and then comedian Will Hunt rounded off the evening with an AI-themed standup comedy set.
The festival itself was 22 events and over 50 contributors coming together over 10 days to take part in workshops, lectures, seminars, a games night and a film screening all related to AI excellence at Southampton.
The launch event and end of the festival activities coincides with the publishing of a new report by the universities of Southampton and Cambridge, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, that has outlined the growing role of AI in services like healthcare, local government, and justice.聽The report also looks at how the technology might be harnessed to improve quality of life.聽福利着片ings from the report, titled Just outcomes: How can AI make people’s lives better?, were drawn from a series of expert workshops involving leaders from healthcare, law, policy and academia.聽While recognising the potential for AI to improve productivity and economic growth, authors emphasised the importance that people understand the risks and opportunities of the technology for jobs and income.
Co-author, Dame Wendy said: 鈥淎rtificial Intelligence is too profound a breakthrough not to use 鈥� it will help us all lead better lives.聽But public services won鈥檛 automatically deliver fairer or more effective outcomes with AI unless we intentionally design systems in the public interest.聽 Without clear rules, skilled staff and public engagement, we risk building systems that are unfair, intrusive, and alienating.鈥�
The report was produced by the Web Science Institute, the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at Cambridge, and the Nuffield Foundation.
You can read a longer version of this article in the July edition of Staff Matters.