CMU-Q’s committee says AI should augment rather than replace human intelligence

AN international panel discussion hosted by Carnegie Mellon niversity in Qatar (CM Q), a Qatar oundation partner university, delved into the grand challenges of Artificial intelligence (AI). Ganesh Mani, adjunct faculty at the School of Computer Science on CM ’s main campus who is teaching a micro course at CM -Q this semester, moderated the session. “You may ask why grand challenges are important,” said Mani as he opened the session. “They can act as a North Star, guiding practitioners and young researchers. A good mantra is ‘of the people, by the people with machines, for the people.’”

People from five continents tuned in to hear the debate. The panel discussed the grand challenges for AI researchers in areas such as global health, education, and robotics during the webinar. Although each field has its own set of challenges, the panel agreed that the overarching questions are how AI can improve human intelligence, improve quality of life, and help address global issues such as climate change and health-care disparities.

Gianni Di Caro, associate teaching professor of computer science at the Qatar campus, and Patrick McSharry, visiting professor at CM Africa in Rwanda, were among the panelists.

Mercy Asiedu, Schmidt Science postdoctoral research fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology rancesca Rossi, IBM fellow, AI ethics global leader, AAAI president-elect Dag Spicer, senior curator of the Computer History Museum and Beverly Woolf, research professor, College of Information and Computer Sciences, niversity of Massachusetts-Amherst, were also on the panel. The panel was organised as part of Mani’s micro course on artificial intelligence, which students are taking on both the Qatar and Rwanda campuses.

Michael Trick, dean of CM -Q, emphasised the importance of micro courses to the global Carnegie Mellon community. Micro courses, taught by faculty at CM ’s main campus in Pittsburgh, provide students at CM -Q with new avenues of investigation and inquiry. “Micro courses are a window into some of the most pressing and relevant questions in the world today. I am so pleased that Carnegie Mellon students, the Qatar community, and people around the world could be part of this discussion on the humanitarian implications of AI.”

The full discussion is available on CM Q’s YouTube channel.