Demystifying AI: What is it and How does it work?

Professor Ahmad Lotfi, Dr Jordan Bird, Dr Amir Pourabdollah and Dr Pedro Machado

17:30 - Registration in LT2

18:00 - Talk in LT3

19:00 - Drinks and Canapés

19:30 - Event close

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a very familiar household term in our rapidly changing world, yet its intricacies are often shrouded in mystery and technical jargon.

In recent years, the mainstream media has paid full attention to this subject; it is often considered a magical box capable of solving any problem, getting blamed when it does not work as expected, and often serves as a fictional villain in film and TV.

In this public introductory talk, we aim to demystify the very technical terms of AI, including Generative AI ChatGPT, Deep Learning and many others by providing an easy and accessible overview of their fundamental concepts, applications, and ethical considerations without any technical jargon.

From understanding the basics of Machine Learning algorithms to exploring real-world AI applications, this talk will serve as a primer for individuals interested in grasping the transformative potential of AI.

We will also discuss the ethical dilemmas and societal implications inherent in the development and deployment of AI applications that will inevitably continue to change our everyday lives.

Please join us on this journey as we unravel the mysteries of AI, shedding light on how it can perceive, learn, and make decisions.

Professor Ahmad Lotfi – is currently a Professor of Computational Intelligence and Head of the Department of Computer Science at Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, where he is also leading the Computational Intelligence and Applications (CIA) research group. Areas of his research interest include computational intelligence, ambient intelligence, assistive robotics, and smart homes. His research has been recognised internationally for significant contributions to the application of computational intelligence techniques in control systems and intelligent environments. He has supervised many research fellows and over 20 PhD research students to successful completion. He has worked in collaboration with many healthcare commercial organisations and end-users. He has authored and co-authored over 250 scientific papers in the area of computational intelligence, anomaly detection and machine learning in highly prestigious journals and international conferences. He has been invited as an Expert Evaluator and Panel Member for many EU Framework Research Programmes. More details are available from: http://www.lotfi.uk

Dr Jordan Bird – is currently a Senior Lecturer in Computer Science at Nottingham Trent University. Dr. Bird received the BSc and PhD in Computer Science from Aston University, UK and has a background in Human-Robot Interaction and Artificial Intelligence. His research interests are primarily in Artificial Intelligence (AI), focusing on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), Machine Learning (ML), Deep Learning, Transfer Learning, and Data Augmentation. His professional academic contributions include roles as a Technical Programme Committee member and Deep Learning Session Chair at several international conferences. Dr. Bird has received significant external grant funding towards his research projects, which involve useful applications of Artificial Intelligence in the real-world.

Dr Amir Pourabdollah – is currently the course leader of BSc Artificial Intelligence in the Department of Computer Science at Nottingham Trent University. His research interests are AI, fuzzy systems, geospatial and ambient intelligence, and quantum computing. He supervises PhD projects related to quantum intelligence and cloud-based AI. Since 2009, Amir has worked with a number of research centres in the UK, namely Intelligent Modelling and Applications, Horizon Digital Economy, Advanced Data Analytics Centre (University of Nottingham) and Computational Intelligence and Applications Research Group (Nottingham Trent University). Amir acts as Microsoft Learn academic advisor for Azure/AI programs. Amir is also an editor of the Springer’s Journal of Quantum Machine Intelligence. He is a member of IEEE’s CIS Standard Working Group on Fuzzy Markup Language, CIS Task Force on Fuzzy Systems Software, and CIS Education Portal Subcommittee.

Dr Pedro Machado – is a Senior Lecturer in Computer Science, Course Leader for MSc Artificial Intelligence and first secretary for the IEEE Systemic Innovation Special Interest Group (SISIG). Dr Machado’s research interests include neuromorphic engineering, edge computer vision, bio-inspired computing, robotics and intelligent sensors, retinal cell understanding, biological nervous system modelling, spiking neural networks, robotics and autonomous systems, and neuromorphic hardware, aquaculture, endangered/invasive underwater species.

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COVID-19

BCS is following government guidelines, and we would ask attendees to continue to follow these guidelines:

England: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/

Wales: https://www.gov.wales/coronavirus

Northern Ireland: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ireland

THIS EVENT IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Nottingham & Derby branch

Visit: Nottingham and Derby branch | BCS

Image credit: Markus Winkler

Professor Ahmad Lotfi

Dr Jordan Bird

Dr Amir Pourabdollah

Dr Pedro Machado

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Teaching and Learning Building, Teaching and Learning Building, Clifton, United Kingdom