In the era of AI Large Language Models (LLM), such as ChatGPT and Bard, a range of pressing technical and ethical questions require answering. Brunel is at the forefront of LLM research and development through participation in the Horizon ELOQUENCE project, which aspires to redefine the AI landscape through ground-breaking innovations. The key objective of the ELOQUENCE project (“Natural Language Understanding and Interaction in Advanced Language Technologies”), which is funded by the European Commission and UKRI, is to explore unstructured dialogues and translate them into explainable, safe, trustworthy, and unbiased language models. The innovative LLM technologies developed during the project will be validated for industrial environments and will be used in next-generation collaborative voice/chat bots.
The official kick-off meeting of the ground-breaking ELOQUENCE project took place at the headquarters of telecoms giant Telefonica in Madrid, Spain, on the 11th and 12th of January 2024. The Brunel researchers that attended the meeting were Principal Investigator Prof. Tatiana Kalganova and Co-Investigators Prof. Ashley Braganza and Dr. Nikos Boulgouris. Co-Investigator Dr Stelios Andreadakis attended remotely. The meeting was also attended by Brunel’s Research Development Manager Yulia Matskevich. At the meeting, project partners from 10 European countries discussed the implementation of project workplan and the associated research, ethical, and legal arrangements. Prof. Kalganova presented a profile of Brunel’s Centre for AI, as well as a roadmap for the consortium’s work on the assessment of unstructured dialogues within professional multi-modal, multilingual, bias-free and law compliant environment with augmented capabilities of understanding.
Apart from contributing to the formal agenda of the meeting, the Brunel team engaged in various discussions with the international experts who attended the meeting and planned several activities for strengthening collaboration between Brunel and the respective international institutions. These activities will complement ongoing AI research that takes place at Brunel and will solidify the position of the university as an international leader in AI research.