How can AI experts come together to dispel the panic around artificial intelligence (AI); and promote an ethical, human approach to it instead? Simon Fraser University (SFU) hosts a panel discussion Nov. 26, “Shaping the Future with AI: Innovation in Visual and Interactive Computing.” The panel will feature experts on AI sharing their thoughts on technology that could affect us all.
“One thing that I would say still very much in the future remains a challenge is translating these advances to the real physical world,” says Manolis Savva, associate professor and the co-director of the Visual and Interactive Computing Institute (VINCI) at SFU, which is responsible for organizing the event.
Steve DiPaola, who will be speaking at the panel, says the discussion will delve into ethical matters: the wider philosophical discussions on how AI can contribute to our global society and quality of life as a whole.
The human in AI
DiPaola intends to challenge the notion that AI is harmful, and only being used to create cheap art to instead center an understanding in AI as a true toolkit for visual creatives.
“You’re building a phonograph [or] record player, not for how accurate it is, but what the experience to human is,” he says, drawing a comparison to older technology. “I think a lot of the panel will be thinking about that experience.”
DiPaola is a professor and director of the cognitive science program at SFU. His past work includes computer-based art (which has been exhibited in galleries globally) and developing 3D facial expression systems for prominent game franchises – like the Sims. When it comes to AI development, he advocates for an interdisciplinary and ethical approach.
“Some people unfortunately assume that AI is just language model bots like ChatGPT,” he explains, noting his interdisciplinary focus. “But there are so many unknown areas.”
He further makes a distinction between those that just play around with AI to create images, and graphic designers or computer-based artists who could benefit from AI tools in their works. DiPaola’s status as a Royal Society of Canada scholar allows him to talk with all kinds of international AI experts, and he is pleased to have SFU as his “human-centric” home base for his research.
“It isn’t just about technical AI, it’s about the ethical issues,” he elaborates. “It’s about working with creatives [and] industry.”
Visualizing artificial intelligence
Savva, an associate professor in the School of Computing Science at SFU, speaks about the exciting future of AI in general across the globe – pointing out the recent successes of Tesla and Boston Dynamics in developing AI-powered robots that can assist in daily human life. But he also gives a general reminder that these are demos and are still in the early phases of development. For him, much more research is required to ensure that these robots are safe and reliable in the human environment.
“The key thing is that it should involve a broad spectrum of people,” cautions Savva. “It shouldn’t just be the few who happen to be…the CEOs of the various companies that have all the resources that are developing the tools.”
Savva’s area of research focuses on AI using 3D graphics to create digital replicas of interior spaces. This data can then be used for AI to understand our lived environments and how they could assist in people’s daily lives.
For him, the purpose of the upcoming panel is for the different groups involved in AI to have a chance for a productive conversation with one another. Specifically, the idea is to focus on the visual elements of AI like imagery, videos, and visual data with input from the various levels of expertise in the industry.
“That event is bringing together folks from SFU, faculty members and students who are doing research in AI with local industry, local government, and more generally, folks who are interested in these…recent AI advances with a specific focus on AI as applied to visual and interactive computing,” he says of the upcoming panel.
DiPaola also looks forward to the panel as a space to have conversations over various dimensions of visual AI – “AI for social good.” Despite exploring the philosophical side of AI, DiPaola emphasizes that his lab as well as his colleagues’ work are technical and scientific.
“The great thing [about this panel] is that we’re thinking of AI and this much…wider view, and some people would use the word ‘human-centric AI,’” he says. “It’s like designing something with humans in mind.”
For more information, see https://events.sfu.ca/event/41598-shaping-the-future-with-ai-innovation-in-visual
