Minister of Science, Innovation, and Universities, Diana Morant, and Principal of the Universitat de València, Mavi Mestre, have given closure today to the ‘IV Meeting on AI & Human Development’, which was celebrated for two days at the Universitat.
The sessions were organised by the Microsoft-Universitat de València Chair of Privacy and Digital Transformation, jointly with the Chair Legaltech & Artificial Intelligence Minsait.
Mavi Mestre has agreed on the need for establishing “a regulation that guarantees, as the European Parliament intends, that artificial intelligence systems be safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory, environmentally friendly, and supervised by people”.
The principal noted that the Universitat de València celebrates this year its 525 anniversary and that it is capable of combining this long tradition with the utmost forward-looking innovation: “We live in a time of accelerated change, of transformation of contemporary societies at breakneck speed, of disruptive technological advances, in which a new reality is being imposed: the transformation of our way of living, interacting, and working”.
For her part, Diana Morant said: “We will make it possible for AI to contribute to the great progress of our civilisation, but only if we exercise an actual political leadership on out-of-control technological transformations, which put particular benefits before those of society”.
The minister has announced that PLD Space, a company from Elche, Spain, will develop the first Spanish small satellite launcher. “Our goal is to be the first in Europe to have this vanguard technology, through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, and the unprecedented commitment of the Spanish Government”, she declared.
The meeting has served to present the opportunities that an artificial intelligence centred on humans and the guarantee of fundamental rights offers for the country’s digital, economic, and social transformation. The event aimed to contemplate the future landscape from multiple perspectives with a focus on identifying strategic challenges that must be taken into account for the transition towards a completely digitalised society. The challenges that AI poses to our society have been examined from the standpoint of the public policies promoted by the European Commission and the Spanish Government. The opportunities and efforts required by this challenge to the economy will also be identified.
Artificial intelligence requires a complex material, organisational, and legal network, from its foundations to the deployment of AI systems. Because of this, it is essential to know the requirements that the building of this data spaces and the information banks that make up the fuel that powers this technology entail. On the other hand, on its design and deployment, AI will be subjected to legal conditions, emphasising the application of a risk approach.
The development of any tool, from the simplest of bots, to the most complex system of predictive medicine, calls for the implementation of very precise governance models. Highlighting amongst them the necessity of securing the guarantee of fundamental rights and of applying analysis methodologies that allow for the prevention of any type of negative impact in the workings of technology that would generate either systemic risks for society or risks for individuals. Moreover, the role of the research in this process in the context of universities and businesses will be crucial. Research teams around the country are working on developments related to, virtually, all areas on which artificial intelligence could be deployed.
Lately, we have been witness to the take-off of AI deployed through large data models, particularly AI based on language or image analysis, the AI that will be tasked with the deployment and operation of self-driving vehicles, or medicine. Because of this, in addition to research and innovation, particularly relevant use cases in the judiciary, health research, and tax administration fields will be considered.
This activity was part of a series of thematic meetings that have been celebrated at the Universitat de València and other Spanish universities with the promotion of the Chair sponsored by Microsoft and that have addressed a variety of issues related to strategic aspects of digital transformation in the fields of health, law, and higher education. It is also in line with the course of action of the Chair sponsored by Minsait, an Indra company, in the field of digitalisation of essential public services such as judiciary administration, offering a high-value joint strategic vision.
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