AI Thought Leadership Seminar Series 2024

The Regulation of Emotion Detection in the EU and UK: Dr Patricia Živković (University of Aberdeen)

With the wide use of machine learning in today’s world, we are fast approaching new ethical and legal issues every day. This seminar will focus specifically on the current state of regulation of emotion/affect and intention recognition in the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Dr Živković will showcase the use of such machines in today’s society and their potential in the future. She will explain further the ethical concerns raised by these applications and discuss the status of the current and future regulations in the field, focusing mainly on the current EU Proposal for the AI Act. The topic is part of Dr Živković's ongoing research on biometrics and law, which also covers issues of the reconceptualisation of the legal nature of biometrics as body parts and governance of general and super AI.

Moderator: Dr Pin Lean Lau (Brunel University London)

Register: The Regulation of Emotion and Intention Detection in the EU and UK Tickets, Fri 24 Feb 2023 at 16:15 | Eventbrite

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Patricia Živković is a Lecturer in Law at the School of Law, University of Aberdeen. She teaches Honours courses on the regulation of biometric data and profiling, data privacy, and artificial intelligence and law. She is an author of a monograph on Cyber Law in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a member of the Scottish Law and Innovation Network (SCOTLIN). 

Digital Poverty: Prof. Ashley Braganza, Prof. Meredith Jones, Dr Rachel Stuart and Dr Vassilis Charitsis (Brunel University London)

A BA funded study of digital poverty in Margate, seen through the lens of two separate communities that had recently moved to the town provided insights that spoke of resilience and need for connectivity in a space of digital exclusion.

Using the data that we gathered from qualitive interviews with members of the Roma community and those who had moved to Margate as part of the creative renaissance which has become an important part of Margate’s rebranding, we will explore digital marginalisation using the theory of necro resistance. The notion that small changes can make survival possible in liminal and marginalised spaces. We propose that survival on the margins of digital inclusion provides valuable insights for resolving a growing global challenge and assisting policy maker decisions. 

Learn more and register: Digital Poverty Tickets, Wed 8 Mar 2023 at 14:00 | Eventbrite

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AI-Assisted Inventions in the Field of Drug Discovery: Readjusting the Inventive Step Analysis: Dr Olga Gurgula (Brunel University London)

Artificial intelligence (‘AI’) is increasingly applied at all stages of drug discovery. While AI has the potential to boost innovation, it also raises many important ethical, social, political and legal issues. Among the latter are the challenges that AI poses for the patent system. With the rapid evolution of AI technologies and the increase in their computational power, the process of inventing has undergone substantial changes. 

As  AI significantly expands human capabilities, inventions that were previously the result of human ingenuity, perseverance or serendipity can now be achieved by routine experimentations with the use of AI. Therefore, the patent law approaches that were developed to assess human-generated inventions are not suitable for AI-assisted inventions and require urgent reconsideration. In her talk, Dr Gurgula will explain that the proper test for the obviousness assessment needs to take into account the advancement of AI technology and will provide suggestions on how the analysis can be modified.

Moderator: Dr Elena Abrusci (Brunel University London)

Register: AI-Assisted Inventions in the Field of Drug Discovery Tickets, Thu 24 Mar 2023 at 14:00 | Eventbrite

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Dr  Olga  Gurgula is a Senior Lecturer in IP law at Brunel University London. She has served as an expert consultant for international organisations, governments and nongovernmental organisations, mainly in the fields of IP and access to medicines. Olga is the author of many articles, including on IP and public health, strategic patenting by pharma companies, and compulsory licensing of trade secrets to enhance access to COVID-19 vaccines. Olga qualified as a Ukrainian attorney in 2004. Before the commencement of her PhD research in 2013, she worked in private practice for over ten years.

Design for Virtual Reality: Dr Sabah Boustila (Manchester Metropolitan University)

Virtual environments (VEs) displayed through Virtual Reality (VR) are commonly used as an alternative means to accomplish delicate tasks or for decision-making in a safe and economical form. However, how accurately virtual environments/contents could be perceived and interpreted in comparison to real ones is still an open research question.

Moreover, interactions using hand controllers could be complicated and require the use of different buttons. In this talk, I will discuss some parameters that affect user experience and VR effectiveness and cover some factors to consider when designing virtual environments.

Moderator: Dr Nadine Aburmman (Brunel University London)

Register: Design for Virtual Reality Tickets, Wed 19 Apr 2023 at 14:00 | Eventbrite

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Dr Sabah Boustila is a Lecturer in User Experience and Digital Design at SODA, Manchester Metropolitan University. She has received her Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Strasbourg, France in 2016, and since then has multiple teaching experiences in a variety of disciplines including Computer Science and User Experience. Previously, she held a Lecturer and Research Assistant position in Computer Science at the University of Strasbourg (2015-2017) and two Postdoctoral Research Fellow positions at the University of Toronto (2018-2020) and the University of Strasbourg (2020), respectively.

Throughout her career, her research interests have been in Virtual and Augmented Reality (XR) and 3D interactions. Some of her projects are on spatial perception in virtual environments and accessibility in VR, just to name a few.

Artificial Intelligence and copyright in the creative industries: Dr Hayleigh Bosher (Brunel University London)

The UK Government are keen to nature an environment of innovation for artificial intelligence (AI), and in progressing with the AI Strategy considered implementing a new copyright exception for AI text and data mining.

However, this presentation argues that this proposed exception does not meet international requirements of the Berne Convention and in any event is not the most effective way to encourage innovation for AI when engaging with the copyright industries.

Register: Artificial Intelligence and Copyright in the Creative Industries Tickets, Thu 4 May 2023 at 14:00 | Eventbrite

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Dr Hayleigh Bosher is a Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law and Associate Dean (Professional Development and Graduate Outcomes) at Brunel University London, as well as, Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Intellectual Property, Policy and Management, a legal consultant in the creative industries and an advisor for the independent UK charity for professional musicians, Help Musicians, writer and Book Review Editor for the specialist IP blog IPKat. Hayleigh research in the area of copyright and related laws in the creative industries, particularly in music, social media, and more recently artificial intelligence and related technologies e.g., NFTs.

Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence: Prof. Marco Gillies (Goldsmiths, University of London)

The Academic Director of Goldsmiths' Teaching and Learning Innovation Centre. Marco is also co-director both the Masters in Virtual and Augmented Reality and the Social, Empathic and Embodied Virtual Reality Lab. He has been researching Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence since the late 1990s and has particularly worked on virtual humans and movement-based interaction with VR. Marco's research covers a wide range of areas of virtual reality and immersive media, particularly in three major areas:

• The application of AI and Machine Learning to VR
• The use of full body movement for interaction with immersive media
• Social interaction in VR, AR and MR

Moderator: Dr Nadine Aburumman (Manchester Metropolitan University )

Register: Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence Tickets, Wed 24 May 2023 at 14:00 | Eventbrite

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Marco Gillies is the Academic Director of Goldsmiths' Teaching and Learning Innovation Centre. He has a long standing interest in pedagogy and particularly online and technology enhanced learning. He co-created the first MOOC from an English University and was instrumental in developing Goldsmiths' large scale online degrees: BSc Computer Science and MSc Data Science.

Fashion in the Metaverse and Beyond: Kadine James (The Immersive Kind)

The metaverse is a vision of what many in the computer industry believe is the next iteration of the internet: a single, shared, immersive, and persistent world.

Through the convergence of the fashion brand with the metaverse and virtual fashion, the metaverse allows the consumer to dive into a far more stimulating and immersive experience that has fashion brands collectively strategising their deliveries, adopting entrance devices and brand deliveries using NFTs or non-fungible tokens.

Register: Fashion in the Metaverse and Beyond: Kadine James Tickets, Wed 14 Jun 2023 at 14:00 | Eventbrite

Moderator: Dr Cigdem Sengul (Brunel University London)

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Kadine James is a successful serial entrepreneur and expert in all things web3, digital fashion, nfts/tickens and is cited as a pioneer of the Metaverse. She founded The Immersive KIND in 2016, a Web 3 commerce company, with a mission to bring brands into the metaverse through The Immersive KIND's extended reality studio specialising in virtual reality, augmented reality and immersive production. After working across architecture and data visualisation (AEC) producing virtual tours and immersive worlds for the built environment she dived into the world of advertising at Verizon and Yahoo RYOT and has since worked with some of the most recognised names across fashion, media and the gaming industry.

Law Enforcement Use of Facial Recognition in the UK—A Normative Regulatory Framework? Dr Asress Adimi Gikay (Brunel University London)

The law enforcement use of automated live facial recognition has caused great concern in Europe. UK law enforcement authorities have deployed the technology in publicly accessible spaces in multiple instances. Today, there is an increasing call for more robust regulation and governance. Some scholars and advocacy groups also call for an outright ban on the technology's use by law enforcement authorities.

However, the UK should take a more balanced regulatory approach to reap the technology's benefits in improving public safety while addressing its risk. Based on an in-depth study of laws, policies and practices, I argue that the UK's legal regime requires changes to effectively manage the risks posed by the technology, focusing both on the development and deployment stages.

Moderator: Dr Pin Lean Lau (Brunel University London)

Register: Law Enforcement Use of Facial Recognition in the UK: Asress Adimi Gikay Tickets, Wed 12 Jul 2023 at 14:00 | Eventbrite

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Asress Adimi Gikay is a Senior Lecturer in AI, Disruptive Innovation, and Law at Brunel University London. He is a member of Brunel University Centre for Artificial Intelligence where he co-coordinates the Centre’s Thought Leadership Series. He obtained his PhD (with honour) in Individual Person and Legal Protections from Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Pisa, Italy) with thesis focusing on the Regulation of Automated Consumer Credit Assessment in the EU and the US.

His current research interest in law, policy and governance of AI, with particular focus on fundamental rights including the privacy implications of AI technologies applied in private and public sectors. He is currently working on a book titled “Artificial Intelligence, Legal Transparency and Accountability” to be published by Routledge.

Date and Time: 27 January 2022, 4pm-5pm

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Andreas Breiter (University of Bremen)

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Description

The presentation will discuss the different speeds and its effects on educational management. By using examples of AI technologies. It will reflect its opportunities and risks. The focus is on the transformational powers on educational management:

• How do HEI react in their governance?

• Is the implementation of AI technologies changing the structures and processes in HEI, and what are forces of resistance?

• What are coping strategies of leadership, staff, and students?

Bio

Professor Andreas Breiter Professor Andreas Breiter is full professor for Information Management and Educational Technologies in the Department for Mathematics and Informatics at the University of Bremen (Germany) and the Chief Digital Officer . He is the scientific director of the Institute for Information Management Bremen and co-founder of the University’s Data Science Center. His research interests around the digital transformation encompass technological and organizational change as well as processes of deep mediatization in the educational systems.

The collaboration between University of Bremen and Brunel University London was facilitated by a small grant from the Young European Research Universities Network.

 Date and Time: 2 February 2022, 2pm-3:30pm

Speakers:

Dr Chris Tennant (London School of Economics and Political Science)
Professor Shireen Kanji (Brunel Business School)

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Description

Autonomous vehicles promise to introduce artificially intelligent physical agents intouncontrolled social spaces for the first time. Public attitudes suggest uncertainty aboutthe technology, but existing research focuses too much on engineering public acceptanceinstead of engaging with public concerns. We suggest that autonomous vehicles are a testcase of the relationship between the public and artificial intelligence technologies and arguefor the importance of a deeper, more carefully theorized understanding of public responses.

Bios

Dr Chris Tennant is an honorary fellow at UCL’s Science and Technology Studies departmentand also a visiting fellow at LSE’s Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science.He worked for 25 years in the financial services industry in London before studying for adoctorate at the LSE. He was the research officer on UCL’s ESRC funded project DriverlessFutures? and is now a consultant for UCL’s participation in behavioural research on connectedand autonomous vehicles for the Department for Transport. His research interests are theinterplay between moral values and rational explanation, media representation of contestedscience, trust and accountability.

Professor Shireen Kanji is Professor of Work and Organization at Brunel University London.Her research lies at the intersection of gender, work, and social inequality, spanninginvestigations into the working hours of men and women, precarious work, and the linksbetween gendered educational pathways and labor market outcomes. She aims to makevisible the gender subtext of organizations and the hidden connections between work andcare.

Date and Time: 25 February 2022, 4pm- 5pm

Speaker: Dr Xia Han (Brunel Business School)

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Description

This presentation will discuss the rise of large-scale digital platforms such as Amazon, Uber,and YouTube, which have steadily transformed people’s daily life in the past decade. Nowadays,digital platforms are dominating many industries. On the one hand, these platforms offer veryefficient economic resource allocation, on the other hand we are seeing ethical concerns raisingfrom such centralizations. In this presentation will explore the following questions:

• Why are platforms so efficient in market acquisition?

• How are platforms established?

• What are the challenges facing digital platforms?

• Are there any remedies to reestablish trust towards a centralized digital platform?

Bio

Dr Xia Han joined the Operations and Information System Management Group of Brunel BusinessSchool in May 2021. He holds a PhD degree from Cambridge University, and an MSc degree inInformation Systems from the London School of Economics (LSE). Prior to his academic career,he had nearly a decade of corporate experience in the Automotive, Media and IT industriesin Europe and Asia. He has published articles and book chapters in peer-reviewed academicjournals and industry-oriented outputs such as the International Journal of Operations andProduction Management, the Tsinghua Business Review, and the Springer Books Series.

 Time and date: 2 March 2022, 11am-12noon

Speakers: 

Dr Edward Asiedu (University of Ghana)
Dr David Botchie (Brunel Business School)
Dr Weifeng Chen (Brunel Business School)
Dr Shang Gao (Örebro University Sweden)

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Description

Funded by ITU’s Connect2Recover initiative 2022

Global health shocks have become rampant in the past few decades. The economic andsocial consequences of such events, even though non-trivial for many countries, are moredire for many developing countries. We aim to investigate how tele¬medicine ecosystems canbe leveraged to expand health service delivery particularly to the poor and the vulnerable(children, women and the elderly) in remote communities. Within our project, we examinethe state of the telemedicine ecosystem in Sub-Saharan Africa broadly, focusing on Ghanafor a more in-depth investigation. Therefore, the project would reveal the issues to thepolicymaker as well as the solutions to address it. Findings and recommendations will helpstrengthen the health system to with¬stand any future covariate health shock. To achievethe insights, the project team will use an in-depth review of secondary data and exploratoryapproaches to explore the telemedicine ecosystem.

Biographies

Dr Edward Asiedu is a Development Economist based at the University of Ghana BusinessSchool (UGBS). His research is in the area of pro-poor policy design and analyses, healthand agricultural financing, migration and development, and experimental evaluation ofdevelopment interventions.

Dr David Botchie is a Senior Lecturer in Sustainability and Global Value Chains at Brunel BusinessSchool. He has worked on the DFID funded Internet Portals Evaluation Project in Ghana,Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. He has also worked as a consultant for various internationalorganisations including the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, and Foodand Agricultural Organisation. He is a member of the Brunel Centre for AI.

Dr Weifeng Cheng is a Reader in Innovation Management at Brunel Business School. He specialisesin technology adoption, business models innovation, digitalisation, and social transformation. Hiscurrent research focuses on the impact of disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligenceand Blockchain Technology on innovation related to new business models and ecosystem cocreationin global value chains. He is one of the founding members of the Brunel Centre for AI.

Dr Shang Gao is an Associate professor (Docent) in Information Systems at the School of Business,Örebro University, Sweden. He is specialized in mobile information systems, blockchain technology,information security management, enterprise modeling and technology diffusion. He obtainedhis PhD (2011) in information systems from Norwegian University of Science and Technology(NTNU), Norway, and his MSc (2006) in Engineering and Management of Information Systemsfrom the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden.

 Time and date: 10 March 2022, 4pm-5pm

Speaker: Professor Juliane Jarke (University of Bremen)

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With the rise of (big) data and new analytical tools to process such data, public administrationshave begun to explore ways of making work processes more efficient, more effective anddecisions more reliable and transparent. AI-powered systems are deployed for prediction,pattern recognition, and scoring across a variety of domains such as social benefit fraud,social work, tax fraud, policing, job seeker training or immigration. They are being usedfor different types of ‘government problems’ such as resource allocation, experts shortage,prediction or the handling of large or diverse data sets. A number of studies have identifiedcases in which the reliance on such systems turned out to be highly problematic. In thesestudies, scholars have demonstrated how such systems discriminate against certain groupsand in so doing produce (new) inequalities. Others have demonstrated the ambivalentagency of AI-powered systems as they facilitate new forms of participation, transparency,care and responsibility. In my talk I attend to these ambivalences and consider what thismeans for new modes of datafied public sector governance.

Bio

Juliane Jarke, PhD, is a senior researcher at the Institute for Information Management Bremen(ifib) and Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI) at theUniversity of Bremen. Her research focuses on public sector innovation, digital (in)equalitiesand participatory design. Her most recent book is Co-creating Digital Public Services foran Ageing Society (Springer, 2020, open access). The edited volume New Perspectives inCritical Data Studies: The Ambivalences of Data Power will be published open access early2022 (co-edited with Andreas Hepp and Leif Kramp, Palgrave).

The collaboration between University of Bremen and Brunel University London was facilitated by a small grant from the Young European Research Universities Network.

Time and date: 17 March 2022, 4pm-5pm

Speaker: Dr Lefteris Kretsos (Brunel University London)

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Over the years, the issue of regulating Big Tech has attracted a lot of attention both in policycircles and in public domain. The growing economic and technological power of BigTech (usually mentioned with the acronym GAFAM or FAANG from the initials of Facebook,Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft and Google) creates a lot of questions for competitionauthorities and a lot of debates regarding the corrosive effect of GAFAM’s algorithms todemocracy posing issues of surveillance and manipulation.This event will discuss the evolution of Big Tech as gigantic and global conglomerates ofpower. It will also focus on the responses by governments and supranational regulatoryauthorities to deal with this new hegemonic condition. The presentation makes strongreference to European Union’s policy reactions in the wake of French Presidency in 2022and the relevant statements by President Macron that it is time to regulate and supervise themajor platforms of the internet, and culture in Europe.

Bio

Dr Lefteris Kretsos is Lecturer at Brunel Business School. He is a former Digital and MediaPolicy Deputy Minister in Greece. During his tenure he championed successful policies formaking Greece a global film friendly location and he was a key contributor in the Revisionof the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) at European level. He has significantstakeholder management experience and a proven record in policy analysis in government,intergovernmental and policy organisations. To date he has participated in 15 internationalresearch projects supported by a number of important institutions and funding streams,such as the European Commission and the European Regional Development Fund. He haspublished articles, co-edited books and book chapters in world leading academic journalsand academic presses.