Why is AI sometimes called “the new electricity”? How can AI improve healthcare? What are the European Union and its member states doing to ensure trust and legality without curbing innovation? How can artificial intelligence be used ethically and responsibly? How can we anticipate the future of jobs in such a rapidly evolving society? How are AI start-ups and scale-ups developing in our countries? What are public institutions planning to do to unlock the potential of AI? Are immersive technologies an opportunity or a threat in the media landscape? What are the funding and investment opportunities? How can I learn AI, where do I start? The European AI Week proposes to answer these questions and many more.
A varied program
The European AI Week runs from Monday, March 14 to Friday, March 18, 2022. The program includes inspiring lectures, workshops, new research insights, new publications and citizen debates. During this week, organized by FPS BOSA, AI4Belgium and its many partners across Europe, everyone – expert or not – will have the opportunity to discover the fascinating perspectives of artificial intelligence in the world.
Mathieu Michel, State Secretary for Digitalization:
” This event wants to highlight the influence and the increasingly striking potential of artificial intelligence as it develops in Belgium and Europe. AI is already present everywhere and is developing at an incredible speed. It has today and will have even more of an incredible impact on the way our societies are managed and organized. This week must contribute to highlighting even more the actions and projects underway, but even more so, the synergies and collaborations that can arise from our exchanges
.”
After the success of the 2021 edition, the AI4Belgium ecosystem is back to share the achievements and goals of the companies, citizens, institutions and working groups that work all year long to make the world a better place through AI.
Nathanael Ackerman, Head of AI at FPS BOSA and AI4Belgium:
“The advent of artificial intelligence and the transformations it induces, invites us, forcefully to think about the world of tomorrow, as individuals and at the level of society, as human beings, or as a community and to place our values at the center of the debates. Artificial Intelligence is sometimes referred to as “new electricity“
, which means that it is not simply a technological advance.
A rich program
European AI Week covers a wide range of topics. Here are a few of them.
Healthcare. Citizens expect a lot from AI in the medical field. Citizens can benefit from better and personalized medicine, but also from faster and more accurate diagnoses. It is also essential that healthcare staff be relieved of administrative or repetitive tasks so that they can focus more on patients. In the field of health and biotechnology, Belgium is a valley of opportunity for research, investment and business. AI Week will be marked by a strong focus on the theme of health.
Youth. For young people, digital, fast and personalized services are normal. Is the world changing fast enough to accommodate this? What are their dreams in an ever-changing world? (How) do we listen to them?
Skills and the future of jobs. What is the impact of AI on current jobs? What do our “desirable futures” look like? How do we think about the future of work? Should the education system evolve to face the challenges of acquiring 21st century skills? Existing trainings on AI in Belgium will be presented.
Trust. How to ensure that AI applications are trustworthy? What is the role of artificial intelligence in our society?
Environment. What does “frugal AI” mean? Since AI requires energy (e.g., electricity to store data), the question is whether AI brings more benefits than harm to the environment.
Blockchain. AI enables the generation, exchange, recognition and processing of unimaginable amounts of data. What about the security of the data and its circulation between actors? By keeping a secure record of all exchanges through a huge “ledger” held virtually by thousands of people, the blockchain provides a level of security that preserves data from corruption, falsification and hacking.
Media. AI can profoundly influence, recognize, alter or falsify text, images and voices. What about the quality of information today? How will immersive and augmented technologies affect our lives? What about the value and role of digital elements such as NFT? Join the new launch of AI4media and travel with us on an immersive journey.
#BreakTheBias. In keeping with the International Women’s Day theme of #BreakTheBias, this event will highlight the challenges and opportunities of creating a diverse and inclusive AI ecosystem. The event will highlight female digital innovators and entrepreneurs who are leveraging AI for social impact, and discuss ways in which policymakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs can work together to create a more inclusive AI ecosystem.
Startups and Companies. Our Belgian AI start-ups and scale-ups will be highlighted, with several sessions addressing the question of how to realize those first AI projects. An overview of the application of AI in companies will be presented (Flanders initiative).
AI in public services. We will discuss the success factors, the enablers and the obstacles to the implementation of AI in public services, illustrating our remarks with concrete projects. Perceptions and drivers for the introduction of AI in public services will also be discussed.
Stronger through (international) cooperation
Jack Hamande, Director General of Digital Transformation, FPS BOSA:
“The future is being built today, bringing together stakeholders from the public and private sectors, academia and civil society, AI Week aims to connect different stakeholders around societal themes and determine how to take advantage of AI in all areas while giving major importance to ethics.”
The AI4EU platform, with representatives from national and international AI clusters and networks such as CLAIRE, will also participate in strengthening the ecosystem, generating positive energy and creating export or foreign investment opportunities. The state of play in Europe will also be presented. We will go as far as Japan and Canada to discover the best practices in AI.
Participate
The European AI Week takes place from Monday, March 14 to Friday, March 18, 2022. This event is hybrid and consists of physical (10%) and online (90%) sessions (videoconference and Youtube).
Participation in the sessions is free. You can register for one or more sessions via this link.
Translated from Semaine européenne de l’Intelligence Artificielle du 14 au 18 mars 2022
