At the Østfold university college, there is a myriad of AI-related activities and projects. Such expertise is extremely valuable for our society and in the region, says professor Stefano Nichele.
Together with associate professor Leonora Onarheim Bergsjø he is leading the new AI hub at the university college.
The Østfold AI hub´s mission
The goal of the Østfold AI hub is to better coordinate the AI academic environment to facilitate collaboration across faculties, as well as to increase opportunities for joint activities with external actors in the region, nationally, and internationally.
– With this initiative, we want to position our AI environment as a strong academic hub for research, education, and innovation in Artificial Intelligence for tomorrow’s digitalized society, says Bergsjø.
Hub activities
The Østfold AI hub will invite researchers, businesses, students and the general public to workshops and seminars on specific AI application domains, in collaboration with the research groups at the Østfold University College and external partners.
– This will facilitate the coordination of educational activities, therefore increasing even further our educational offer within AI in the Fredrikstad and Halden, says Nichele.
– We also collaborate to the organization of two AI conferences such as the international conference on applied AI (ICAPAI) and the AI+ conference, adds Bergsjø.
Nichele emphasizes that including stakeholders in all processes of AI, from development to adoption is of vital importance when we want to secure the societal benefits of AI, including diversity and equality.
And adds:
– Additionally, such meeting points will create opportunities for cutting edge research project with academic and industrial partners.
Finally, we will engage in dissemination activities for the general public and support our AI doctoral candidate students, as they represent the next generation of AI leaders.
Empowering society: Tackling societal challenges
According to Bergsjø they will consider AI as an enabling technology in order to facilitate a transformative impact across various sectors at the Østfold AI hub.
– Our focus is on harnessing AI's potential to address critical challenges and advance societal well-being, ensuring ethical, sustainable, faire and inclusive growth, she says.
And adds:
– This is a very important goal, as AI technology is permeating every area of society, and we need to ensure it is developed in a responsible an ethical way that can be trusted, such that society can benefit from it.
Joining forces: The rise of AI hubs in Norway
Artificial Intelligence is becoming a very large research field that goes beyond the domain of computer science and algorithms. AI tools are now available in many domains such as health, education, and robotics, to name a few.
– There is a growing need to make AI expertise available across sectors and disciplines, including and in connection with disciplines from the social sciences, such as ethics and philosophy, Nichele states.
Therefore, other academic environments in Norway have decided to coordinate similarly their AI activities.
– Such hubs make it easier to collaborate internally across domains and provides a readily available entry point for external actors that want to collaborate with the academic environments, and across academic institutions, he says.
Collaborating with industry giants
Nichele explains that the Østfold AI hub will collaborate with very strong academic partners through the Norwegian AI Research Consortium (NORA), as well as key actors in the region such as the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), eSmart Systems, Smart Innovation Norway and their Cluster for Applied AI, and many others.
– Additionally, we have several ongoing research and innovation projects with other national and international partners, he says.
Ambitions and visions
The ambition of the Østfold AI hub is to position Østfold university college AI environment as a strong actor in large-scale EU projects as well as in the incoming center proposals in Norway, such as the Norwegian Centres of Excellence, the Centres for Research-based Innovation, and the newly announced AI centers supported by the government with an investment of 1 billion kroner.
The ØAI hub’s vision is aligned with the Østfold university college’s priority area “The Digital Society” and the PhD program in “Digitalization and Society”.
Closing Statement
Bergsjø and Nichele lead the hub with a shared vision;
– AI is an interdisciplinary field and must be met with interdisciplinary cooperation. We want to clearly signal that both the technical and the socio-ethical aspects are equally important in AI, therefore we gladly serve as co-e leaders of the AI hub by representing two equally important and necessary perspectives.
Bergsjø has expertise within the field of digital ethics and ethical risk assessment of AI, Nichele has expertise within Artificial Intelligence (AI), Artificial Life (ALife), and Complex Systems (CS).
– Additionally, we acknowledge that gender balance is of primary importance in all domains, but particularly in AI where there is often a lack of balance and diversity, they say.
For more information on the Østfold AI hub's initiatives and upcoming events, visit the hub´s website.