• The Faculty of Computer Science of the UDC (FIC) and the museum in A Coruña organize tomorrow, Thursday, February 8, several talks given by four professors and researchers who are experts in Artificial Intelligence.
• Bertha Guijarro Berdiñas, Susana Ladra González, Verónica Bolón Canedo, and Adriana Dapena Janeiro will be responsible for delivering this informative session titled “Directo 11F – Connect with Computer Engineers. Artificial Intelligence”.
• The initiative is aimed at students in Secondary Education, High School, and Vocational Training, with the goal of introducing them to the research carried out by these four computer engineers to motivate students towards scientific-technological vocations.
• Students can register through the email address reservascor@muncyt.es or by phone, calling +34 689 57 87 27.

Researchers from CITIC participate tomorrow, Thursday, February 8, in the informative session “Directo 11F. Connect with Computer Engineers. Artificial Intelligence”, organized by the Faculty of Computer Science of the UDC (FIC) and MUNCYT in A Coruña, which will take place at the museum in A Coruña in anticipation of the upcoming celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This year’s informative action focuses on the significant role of women in Artificial Intelligence, which will be addressed by four renowned computer engineers and AI experts: Bertha Guijarro Berdiñas, Susana Ladra González, Verónica Bolón Canedo, and Adriana Dapena Janeiro, who will analyze topics ranging from the challenges of new technologies to green AI.

The informative session is aimed at students in Secondary Education and Vocational Training and will take place between 10:30 and 13:30.

Program

Bertha Guijarro Berdiñas will deliver the first talk: “Understanding AI”, where she will discuss how and when Artificial Intelligence was born, how it is trained, and how it resembles Natural Intelligence; delving into the foundations of Artificial Intelligence that allow for a better understanding of the functioning of these algorithms, their interesting possibilities, and also their risks.

Bertha Guijarro holds a PhD in Computer Science, is an Associate Professor at the UDC, and a researcher at CITIC in the fields of AI, computational learning, and knowledge-based systems. Additionally, at the national level, she collaborates with the Subdirectorate General of the National Agency for Evaluation and Prospective (ANEP) for the scientific subarea of Intelligent Systems.

The second intervention will be by Susana Ladra at 11:15, focusing on ChatGPT. What it is and why it has amazed the world, what this tool can and cannot do, how it can reason and understand what we say to it, are some of the questions the engineer and PhD in Computer Science, with a background in Mathematics, and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Computer Science of the UDC will attempt to answer. Ladra is also a researcher at CITIC and has recently been appointed Deputy for Transfer at the UDC in the new government team of the newly appointed rector, Ricardo Cao, in addition to holding the position of Vice President of the Professional College of Computer Engineering of Galicia (CPEIG). Her research lines are developed in the area of data compression, algorithm analysis and data structures for bioinformatics, databases, data mining, and information retrieval.

The third talk will take place at 12:00 and will be given by Verónica Bolón Canedo on “Green Artificial Intelligence”, attempting to answer the question of whether it is appropriate for an AI algorithm to be responsible for an estimated energy consumption equivalent to that of a Spanish household for 23 years. Bolón will delve into the concept of green AI, explaining how algorithms can be created to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Verónica Bolón is a Computer Engineer and PhD from the UDC, where she works as an Associate Professor and researcher in Artificial Intelligence at CITIC. Additionally, at the national level, she is an academic of the Young Academy of Spain and the Royal Academy of Sciences. Her curriculum also highlights her commitment to promoting scientific-technological vocations among girls, being the coordinator of the A Coruña node of the Inspira STEAM project.

Finally, at 12:45, the fourth and last talk will take place, where Adriana Dapena will discuss “AI for human-machine interfaces”. Knowing whether Artificial Intelligence can change the way people interact with machines is the question she will attempt to answer, delving into the past, present, and future of graphical interfaces. She will also present real cases of using AI to interact with machines in unconventional ways.

Adriana Dapena is a Computer Engineer and PhD from the Universidade da Coruña, where she works as a professor and researcher in the area of Signal Theory and Communications. She was the director of the “Applied Geometry” project and received awards from the UDC for service-learning projects aimed at bringing science and technology closer to people with cognitive and functional diversity.

The purpose of this Thursday’s informative session with the four renowned AI experts from the UDC is to highlight women scientists, provide female role models in the field of science, and encourage scientific-technological vocations among young people.