DesCartes Week 2023
Slide for more photos!
The annual DesCartes Week, held in CREATE Tower for the second time since the beginning of the cooperation in October 2021, gathered all DesCartes members and partners for a five days event which served as a platform for researchers and industry experts to explore the latest developments in human-AI collaboration, responsible innovation, and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence. Let’s take a closer look at the highlights of this eventful week, that took place from 2-6 October 2023:
DAY 1: Critical Infrastructures, Intellectual Property of creativity, and Human-AI
On Monday, the morning session delved into “Monitoring, Diagnosis, and Prognosis of Critical Infrastructures Empowered by HAI.” Francisco Chinesta (WP9), Caroline Chaux (WP3), Clément Mailhe (WP9), and Pauline Le Borgne (CETIM-MATCOR) discussed the latest developments in infrastructure monitoring, data collection, and localized damage prediction.
Francisco Chinesta followed with a presentation on the concept of the “Digital Twin”, shedding light on its potential applications
Slide for more photos!
Slide for more photos!
The afternoon was dedicated to “Intellectual Property of Creativity”, led by Jean-Marc Deltorn (WP7). This session emphasized on the significance of responsible innovation, aligning with Sustainable Development Goals.
Vanessa Evers concluded the day with a lecture on “Human-AI Social Interactions”, offering valuable insights into the dynamics of this evolving relationship.
DAY 2: Ethics, Modeling and Control of AI
Day 2 began with a morning panel discussion between Yannis Montreuil (WP4), Chen Bin (WP5), Marida di Crosta (WPX) and Wayne Christensen (WP6) on “Building Ethics of Autonomy in the Machine: an example in Descartes use-case”. Presenting research on hybrid human-AI systems, ethical learning and effective ethical control, they explored ways of bridging diverse perspectives and methods for the formulation of an integrated approach.
Slide for more photos!
Slide for more photos!
In the afternoon, Benoit Cottereau (WP4) and Ludovic Chamoin (WP8) explored “Links between physical modeling and behavioral data”. After a presentation of this model, some visions on it from biology and physics viewpoints were presented, highlighting similarities in the phenomenological diffusion concepts involved.
To conclude the day, Nina Powell (WP6) and Benoit Delinchant (WP8), during the “Control: Using nudge to control energy system with human in the loop” session, delved into the workings of incentives that assist in decision-making, using a household energy flexibility experiment as an illustrative example, as well as examining the psychological principles that underlie incentives. These topics engaged discussions about the philosophical and ethical inquiries they provoke.
DAY 3: Co-design and Responsible Futuring
Day 3 began with Vanessa Evers introducing the topic of this DesCartes co-design workshop on “Responsible Futuring” as well as the design thinking method. The idea was to familiarise the participants with the use cases identified by the program, and form groups to work on each one of them. First, the participants had to “Connect, relate and analyse” with the problem of the use case they had chosen was addressing, before they could go on to “Co-design alternative futures”, related to that specific problematic and then “reflect, reframe, act” by prototyping possible alternative solutions.
Slide for more photos!
DAY 4: Pushing the boundaries of AI, Smart cities and digital twins
The day 4 of DesCartes Week shed light on the following critical topics: ” Smart Cities, Civic Tech, and Urban Digital Twins: A Critical STS Perspective”, “Development of data-driven and hybrid-based modeling for real-time industrial application”, “Cognitive digital twins for empowering decision making” and “Modelling and Simulating Cities with Digital Twins.”
These discussions led respectively by Chaewon Ahn (NUS), Chady Ghnatios (ENSAM), Beatriz Moya Garcia (CNRS@CREATE), Anders Logg (Chalmers University), showcased the potential of DesCartes Program in addressing the Smart City challenges.
Slide for more photos!
Slide for more photos!
The day concluded with presentations prepared by PhD students and young researchers, demonstrating their important contributions to the Program and showcasing the diversity of expertise gathered in DesCartes.
DAY 5: DesCartes Program second-year anniversary: Reflecting on Progress and Future
It was also the occasion to celebrate the second-year anniversary of DesCartes Program, with presentations of demonstrators and scientific milestones. It included conversations on prospective plans and welcomed new industrial members.
The DesCartes Week culminated in a networking session, providing an excellent atmosphere for participants to forge deeper connections.
The last day focused on DesCartes’ progress and future direction.
The different Work Packages highlighted their achievements, challenges, and strategic plans for the coming years. PIs engaged in discussions to shape the program’s future priorities and actions around several use cases.
Slide for more photos!
Slide for more photos!
It was also the occasion to celebrate the second-year anniversary of DesCartes Program, with presentations of demonstrators and scientific milestones. It included conversations on prospective plans and welcomed new industrial members.
The DesCartes Week culminated in a networking session, providing an excellent atmosphere for participants to forge deeper connections.