The fourth Westminster Digital Business Symposium welcomed six keynote speakers to the stage to explore the past, present and future of artificial intelligence (AI), looking at different perspectives on AI, ranging from business, social, ethical and technical aspects.
The theme of the event was Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence. The symposium delved into the ways in which people relate to AI systems as consumers, the complex and unpredictable nature of AI ethics, the technical capabilities of modern AI systems and possible ways to overcome the nature of dominant AI methods and algorithms.
AI has made significant advances in recent years, increasingly assuming a transformative role in the lives of individuals, organisations and society at large. While AI has the potential to offer numerous benefits, including personalised experiences, improved decision-making and problem-solving, the technology also poses significant challenges and risks. Among these risks are bias of outcomes, ethical concerns, job displacement and the inscrutability of how decisions are made.
Professor Sergio De Cesare, Professor of Digital Business and Director of Centre for Digital Business Research, and Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Peter Bonfield, opened the event, welcoming internal and external visitors. Academics, students, practitioners and anyone interested in AI were welcomed to participate in the in-person symposium that took place at the University’s historic Regent Street Cinema.
The keynote speakers were Ana Isabel Canhoto, a Professor of Digital Business, Fergus Navaratnam-Blair, Research Director of National Research Group, Bernd Stahl, Professor of Critical Research in Technology, Allan Tucker, Head of the Intelligent Data Analysis Group, Stefano Borgo, Head of the Laboratory for Applied Ontology in the National Research Council, Italy, and Alessandro Oltramari, Senior Research Scientist at Bosch.
Visitors took to social media to express their appreciation for the event, with one saying: “One of the most switched-on, in-depth events on the topic this year. I came away inspired and humbled. THANK YOU!”
About the event Professor De Cesare said: “This year’s symposium brought together experts from academia and industry to discuss and explore different dimensions of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The very insightful keynote talks were followed by very lively and insightful discussions among the panellists and the audience. Both the experts and the participants were engaged throughout the event, blending and complementing their knowledge regarding the social, business, ethical and technical aspects of AI. Discussions also explored the history of AI, relating it to possible future developments.
“The historical significance of the venue, where the first motion picture was presented to a paying audience in 1896, allowed us all to appreciate even more the technological advancements that have been achieved over just more than a century.”
Find out more about studying AI at Westminster.
