The international John McCarthy AI Summer School returns for the fourth year running, hosted in person at the RDI Hub in Killorglin, Kerry and online, on the 7th and 8th of September. The event will deep dive into the area of AI for Sustainability and the line-up includes 19 speakers from four countries over two half days, including keynotes and panel discussions along with networking.
The event is being jointly hosted by the following partners – RDI hub, Microsoft Ireland, Munster Technological University, the SFI ADAPT Centre for AI Driven Digital Content Technology, Tangent (Trinity’s Ideas Workspace), AI Ireland and IT@Cork Skillnet along with new partner 2050 Accelerator, Ireland’s National Sustainability Accelerator, run by Dogpatch Labs.
The AI Summer School is delighted to announce its international line-up will include keynotes from leading international AI experts Colleen Josephson, Caroline Lair, Vinny Cahill and Marguerite Nyhan.
The RDI hub building is dedicated to John McCarthy as a tribute to the Stanford University computer scientist. McCarthy was one of the founders of the discipline of artificial intelligence and his father was born in Cromane, near Killorglin in Co Kerry. In the late 1950s McCarthy invented LISP which became the programming language of choice for AI applications.
AI is going to have a truly transformative effect on our lives in the coming years, already it is a discipline which has risen to prominence in terms of the personalisation of content we interact with on a daily basis online but there is so much more AI can help us achieve in the sustainability space and we are looking forward to discussing its diversity with our speaker panel.
Our aim is that the John McCarthy AI Summer School will become a calendar moment for the development of AI and the sharing of knowledge.
RDI Hub CEO, Liam Cronin had this to say about the event:
“As we strive for a sustainable future, we need to harness all the tools at our disposal and Artificial Intelligence is key to achieving this. Leveraging technology, AI, and cloud computing is a critical part of the journey. By incorporating cutting-edge tech into diverse sectors like energy, carbon management, transportation and agriculture, we can actively curtail waste, optimize energy consumption, enhance efficiency, and mitigate carbon emissions.
At the fourth John McCarthy AI Summer School, we hear from the brightest minds in AI, as this year we explore the role of AI in achieving sustainability, encompassing both core research and real-life applications that are building a sustainable future.”
About the keynote speakers
Colleen Josephson is an Assistant Professor at the University of California, who holds a Masters from MIT and a PhD from Stanford. A Senior Research Scientist in Distributed Edge team within the Office of CTO at VMware, her research interests include wireless communication and sensing systems, with a passion for creating technologies to enable and improve sustainable practices.
Caroline Lair is the Founder of The Good AI, Business Dev Manager at Interstellar Lab, Co-founder and Board member of Women in AI nonprofit and is a Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Sorbonne Center for Artificial Intelligence (SCAI)
Vinny Cahill is a Professor of Computer Science at Trinity College Dublin. His research addresses many aspects of distributed systems, in particular, middleware and programming models for mobile, ubiquitous and autonomic computing with application to optimization of urban resource usage and service delivery in order to improve the quality of life and sustainability of cities.
Dr Marguerite Nyhan is an Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer in Future Sustainability & Environmental Engineering at University College Cork, the Environmental Research Institute and the MaREI Centre for Energy, Climate & Marine. Dr Nyhan founded and now directs the Future Sustainability Research Group which harnesses new and emerging technologies to design data-driven and intelligent solutions for sustainable, net zero, healthy, liveable and equitable urban areas.
The core research elements of this summer school will appeal to professors, post docs, PhD students, researchers and graduate students in the fields of AI, Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing. The applied elements have a broader appeal and are accessible to anyone with an interest in Artificial intelligence and the various way it can be deployed.
Why attend?
- Over two days you will explore cutting edge research in AI for Sustainability that is reshaping our future.
- Join keynotes and panel discussions with speakers from several different countries including the US, Germany, France and Ireland.
- Meet some of the greatest Professors, PhD Students and Researchers along with founders and innovators in the field of AI for Sustainability.
Professor Dave Lewis, Director of ADAPT and Head of Artificial Intelligence at Trinity College Dublin, said: “AI has the potential to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges, but the responsible development of AI demands a delicate balance between innovation and ethical considerations. ADAPT’s research highlights how AI can be a force for positive change. By taking a holistic, multidisciplinary approach, ADAPT’s researchers are taking a leading role in developing more sustainable AI designs and new best practices that will safeguard our planet and improve the lives of all.”
Sustainability Lead at Dogpatch, Ashley Shak said, “We’re excited for sustainability to be at the forefront of this years’ AI programme. It’s a now-or-never time to use the tech and talent that’s at our fingertips to tackle the climate crisis.” Shak led the launch of 2050 Accelerator & Ecosystem in May this year, which RDI Hub is a regional partner of, and notes the importance of wider collaboration, “Regional initiatives like this are integral to building out our all-island approach, with RDI showing real-life examples of our interconnectedness. And we’re only grazing the surface of AI’s application here – we’re already seeing it with 2050 Accelerator startups, including Micron Agritech and Carbonstack, both using machine learning to tackle antibiotic resistance and deforestation”
Dr Breda O Dwyer, Head of The Cantillon Academy and Senior Lecturer at Munster Technological University, had this to say
“We at MTU are very much looking forward to this year’s John McCarthy AI summer school as we continue to advance sustainability through our AI driven research here at MTU. We, together with other speakers will address the multiple opportunities being offered by the challenges of AI as we aim to cultivate a harmonious coexistence between AI, us the human and our planet! We look forward to sharing and learning how we can revolutionise sustainability by enhancing predictive capabilities and fostering data-driven decision-making for a resilient and productive agri-food system, carbon measurement, effective climate change decisions, sustainability mobility models and more . We are excited about our plans to expand the MTU AI research colloquium across Europe in 2024.”
Mark Kelly CEO of AI Ireland said:
“AI Ireland is proud to be part of this vital conversation on sustainability. Together, we’re not just shaping the future of technology; we’re crafting a blueprint for a more sustainable world.”
Anne Sheehan Microsoft Ireland, General Manager said:
“The development of AI over the next several years is critical as we continue the journey of Digital Transformation across all sectors of the economy. As a founding member, Microsoft Ireland is proud to continue supporting the John McCarthy AI Summer school, which is now a pivotal event in the AI calendar. This year’s theme of AI for Sustainability is timely and relevant as AI becomes more prevalent across all areas of our society.”
Register via the Eventbrite link here:
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/artificial-intelligence-summer-school-event-ai-for-sustainability-tickets-698300324067