AI: how to adopt the technology sensibly? Experts meet at UNamur

The conference began with a word from Rector Annick Castiaux, who recalled the growing importance of AI in our societies, to the point of being considered a new industrial revolution. As AI brings with it profound changes, the Rector insisted on the development of an inclusive and responsible AI. This introduction was followed by a presentation by Steven Latré, from the VUB and IMEC, a company active in the field of nanoelectronics and digital technologies.

He noted the speed of adoption of tools like chatGPT, before recalling that in the past, AI had already experienced two "winters", once the craze had died down. In his view, its colossal energy consumption is a major problem, calling for a change in poparadigm. He also pointed to Europe's strengths in developing AI that is respectful of citizens' privacy. "This conference makes it possible to unite all the researchers in the AI community around a reasoned adoption of the technology, which is Trail's mission in Belgium," said Anne-Laure Cadji, Executive Officer of Trail.

The conference continued with the presentation of research work, starting with Pierre Poitier, a PhD student at UNamur, who has been involved in the development of a French-Sign Language Translation Dictionary from French-speaking Belgium. According to the researcher, this dictionary shows that AI is already having a positive impact on society. In addition, Heritiana Ranaivoson from the VUB, in collaboration with the NaDI Research Center, presented her first results from the study of recommendation algorithms which, by controlling our access to the media, have become veritable "algorithmic gatekeepers".

Finally, Florent de Geeter, a PhD student at ULiège, presented a new type of neural network that consumes less energy when running on neuromorphic processors.

After a poster presentation of the various works, several AI-related policymakers then took the floor. Willy Borsus, Vice-President of Wallonia, confirmed the desire to integrate social and ethical aspects into the development of AI. Mathieu Michel, Federal Secretary of State for Digitization, called for European AI governance that does not threaten innovation. Antoine-Alexandre André, Policy and Legal Officer at the European Union's AI Office, summarized the EU's legislative approach to the issue. Finally, Nathanaël Ackerman, from AI4Belgium, presented the Belgian AI landscape. The conference concluded with a series of keynotes, presented by people from management and the business world, completing a rich panorama on AI in Belgium.

"We witnessed very different points of view, and it's very important for young researchers to be confronted with a more societal angle on AI. This conference gives our field great visibility", said Benoît Frenay, Professor of AI at UNamur and organizer of the conference.

"It's also an opportunity for research, industry, and the general public to meet, which are worlds that don't talk to each other enough" added Professor Bontempi of ULB and president of Trail. "We're working on systems that affect the lives of all citizens, and it's important to keep listening to them."