Universidad CEU San
Pablo, as part of its strategy to promote the
responsible use of AI, has inaugurated a new series of academic sessions, entitled
'dIAlogos,' aimed at fostering and expanding digital culture.
The series was opened by
Omar Hatamleh, Senior Advisor for Artificial Intelligence and Innovation
at the Goddard Space Flight Center and leader of the NASA Information
Technology Strategy at NASA Headquarters. He addressed the benefits and the challenges,
and made reference to regulation, following the recent provisional agreement on
the future Artificial Intelligence law.
Hatamleh's presentation
focused on the importance of adopting AI technology in a society where it has
already been introduced, even though full implementation will not occur
until 2024. "We must start conceiving highways for flying cars, and
understanding a longevity that will allow humans to live to the age of 120. All
this represents significant economic and social change that we must start
addressing now with regulation in hand," he explained.
The expert emphasised
that AI will affect all spheres, and education is no exception. "Academic
institutions must be careful to adapt critical thinking to AI competencies. Today’s
skills will not be enough for our students to succeed in a not-so-distant
future: We must begin to prepare the CV of the future," Hatamleh
noted.
Will society be able to embrace Artificial Intelligence?
Hatamleh’s presentation
was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Emiliano Blasco,
Vice-Rector of Strategic Planning and Digital Culture at the CEU San Pablo
University. Participants included Idoia Salazar, founder and president
of OdiseIA, a watchdog organisation on the social and ethical impact of AI, and
Rafael Fernández, Global Director of Innovation and Ventures at
Ferrovial Group.
The speakers addressed
the risks, the benefits, and how the proper implementation of Artificial
Intelligence should occur across the different corporate and social domains. In
the words of Idoia Salazar: "We must lose our fear of Artificial
Intelligence and of its destruction of jobs. AI is still perceived as a tool which
will replace humans, but we need to think of it as something complementary
which will allow us to carry out projects more efficiently in our companies. In
fact, it will be a great ally for SMEs and startups, allowing them to compete
on the same level as large corporations."
The experts concluded that
society will embrace the benefits of AI if changes are made progressively,
allowing the cohesion of less technological or non-technological tools with
more advanced ones. According to Rafael Fernández: "All the members
of a company need to try out and get to know AI, to interact with it and to understand
the positives, the negatives, and the risks involved."
Omar Hatamleh emphasised
that for a proper adoption of AI, "companies, in their entirety, must understand
the technology and its implications, and for this, it is necessary to have an
open mind and take risks. Without risks, value will not be created."
Universidad CEU San Pablo raises awareness about the
ethical use of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is a tool that must always be at the
service of people and cannot, and should not, replace the individual as the
centre of academic and professional activity. Similarly, artificial
intelligence can never and should never replace natural intelligence.
Universidad CEU San
Pablo seeks the common good in our society and believes in raising awareness
about the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence and denouncing malpractices in
the application of these tools in the academic or social sphere.
Following the approval
of the proposal by the European Commission for the regulation of Artificial
Intelligence (the so-called AI act) on December 8th coupled with an awareness
of the need to work together for the ethical use of this technology, The Universidad
CEU San has shared with the whole university community a Manual of good
practices and academic integrity in the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
This manual is intended to allow teachers and students to understand the
magnitude and impact of these tools and how to make ethical, responsible, and
integral use of them.
This is a living
document that aims to evolve in parallel with the evolution of these tools while
also establishing the foundations of what AI should be and its effect on
university teaching, based on the principles of Christian humanism.