"Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence" is the theme of the fourth edition of the Intercontinental Academia (ICA 4), which will have its opening sessions virtually held from June 13 to 18. The face-to-face sessions will take place next October in Paris and in June 2022 in Belo Horizonte.

The ICA is a project by UBIAS, an international network of institutes for advanced study linked to universities. Each edition is hosted by two institutes from different continents. ICA 4 has been organized by the Institute of Advanced Transdisciplinary Studies (IEAT) at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and the Paris Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), a member of the French Network of Institutes for Advanced Studies (RFIEA).

Since implementing the project in 2015, the objective of UBIAS has been to create global networks of future research leaders to work together on paradigm shifts and transdisciplinary research under the mentorship of eminent researchers from around the world.

Brazilian participants of ICA 4: André Fujita, Patricia Coelho de Soárez, and Evandro Castro

According to the ICA 4 organizers, the edition will explore key interdisciplinary issues at the intersection of cognitive science, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence (AI). By highlighting the importance of the topic, they point out that decisive advancements have taken place in recent decades regarding the analysis of brain activity and its behavioral counterpart, as well as the information processing sciences. "Complementarities between neuroscience/cognitive science and AI make it possible to explore synergies and raise ethical issues between these disciplines, which involve enormous challenges and opportunities for societal progress."

In parallel to the second face-to-face session, scheduled for June 2022, a "satellite session" will be held at UFMG, with conferences and roundtables, and the participation of ICA 4 mentors and other guests from academia and the industry. There will be live streaming over the internet. Some of the topics covered in this session will be: "Fundamentals and Ethics of AI," "Intelligence and Rationality," "Cognition and Neurosciences," "Interdisciplinary Explorations of AI," and "AI and Health Sciences."

Participants

19 researchers working in universities and research institutes in Brazil, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Poland, United States, Japan, South Africa, Israel, and the Netherlands have been chosen out of the 60 candidates to participate in ICA 4 (23 of them Brazilians). The research areas of those selected include mathematics, computing, engineering, law, philosophy, linguistics, neuroscience, and history.

The representatives of Brazil are André Fujita (nominated by the IEA), from USP's Institute of Mathematics and Statistics (IME), Patricia Coelho de Soárez (independently enrolled), from USP's Medical School (FM), and Evandro Cunha (nominated by the IEAT), from UFMG's Faculty of Languages, Literature, and Linguistics (FALE).

Fujita's expectation is to participate in intense philosophical and scientific discussions with the other participants, and obtain "stimulus and inspiration" to make the Postgraduate Program in Bioinformatics at USP, which he coordinates, more vigorous. He emphasizes that bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field integrated by researchers in mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and engineering, among others. "People usually define bioinformatics as the big data study of areas of biology using computational techniques. I think we could define bioinformatics as the field that uses artificial intelligence to discover how cells and beings learn or acquire intelligence."

Soárez, who is a member of IEA's Study Group on Science, Technology, and Innovation in Health, proposes the adoption of a holistic point of view in evaluating the contributions of AI in health care, including economic, ethical, and social impacts. More specifically, her interest is the implications of incorporating AI into health policies, decision-making processes, and equality in the Brazilian health system. One of her expectations in relation to ICA 4 is to obtain subsidies for the development of an interdisciplinary research project on the importance of AI for decision-making in health. She also hopes to learn about applicable procedures and tools needed to broaden the impact of her research and advance her career development as a research leader.

Cunha's main research interest is computer-mediated communication and the use of computational methods for solving linguistic problems, especially those related to historical linguistics, revitalization of endangered languages, and language neuroscience. At ICA 4 he intends to discuss the applications of language science in AI and the effects of technology on human communication, particularly with regard to manipulation, extremism, and dissemination of disinformation in the current scenario of pandemic and climate crisis.

Mentoring

The participants will have the support of 17 mentors, all renowned researchers with worldwide recognition in various scientific areas, philosophy, and arts. Among them are molecular biologist Ada Yonath, from the Weizmann Institute, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, economist Robert Aumann, winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Economics and a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, astrophysicist and cosmologist Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and co-founder of the The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at Cambridge University, neurologist and neuroscientist António Damásio, a specialist in the mental processes underlying emotions, feelings, and consciousness, computer scientist Timnit Gebru, co-founder of Black in AI, a support organization for black AI researchers and professionals, and one of the former leaders of Google's ethical artificial intelligence research team, and artist Zaven Paré, dedicated to new media and robotics, and a contributor to the Postgraduate Program in Arts, Culture, and Languages ​​at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora.

The coordinators of ICA 4 are Guilherme Ary Plonski, director of the IEA and former coordinator of UBIAS, Estevam Barbosa de Las Casas, director of the IEAT, Eliezer Rabinovici, a professor at The Racah Institute of Physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and proponent of the Intercontinental Academia project, and Olivier Bouin, director of the RFIEA and new coordinator of UBIAS.

Photos: Intercontinental Academia

Algorithms of applications and social networks, autonomous vehicles, automatic translation, facial recognition, machine learning, artificial neural networks, medical diagnosis... There are many concepts, technologies, and uses of artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly present in everyday life, a result of the great development of the field in the last decades.

In order to provide non-specialized audiences with a comprehensive view of this technological revolution, the 101st edition of the journal Estudos Avançados devotes its main dossier to the discussion of the current state, perspectives, and impacts of AI. The digital version (Portuguese only) is available for free at SciELO.

Composed of nine articles authored by 17 researchers from USP, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), and Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), the dossier "Artificial Intelligence" analyzes the development of the field since its origin in the 1950s, its numerous applications, and the debates it raises in the scientific and technological scenario. They do not neglect "the risks, the associated ethical care that its massive employment requires, and the social, political, cultural, and moral implications that rapidly transform contemporary societies," as summarized by the publication's editor, sociologist Sérgio Adorno.

The opening of the dossier is dedicated to the methodological aspects of AI research, with an article by Fabio Gagliardi Cozman, from USP's Polytechnic School (EP). He explains that there are two "fundamentally different styles of approach to AI: on the one hand, the empirical style, strongly supported by observations about the biology and psychology of living beings and ready to embrace complicated architectures that emerge from the interaction of many disparate modules; on the other hand, an analytical style supported by general and organizing principles, interested in abstract conceptions of intelligence and assisted by mathematical and logical arguments."

According to Cozman, around 1980, the terms "scruffy" and "neat" were coined to respectively refer to these two styles of work in AI. This methodological divergence remains with the constant dilemma between "the search for rational artifacts based on clear principles or empirical artifacts that reproduce patterns," he says. His proposal is to invest in architectures based on principles of rationality that allow to simultaneously house several modules, many of which are based on massive data collection.

The concern with the form of AI development is shared by André Carlos Ponce de Leon Ferreira de Carvalho, from USP's Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science (ICMC): "What we have to decide now is no longer whether or not we will have AI, but how we will have it." To reduce possible risks "it is necessary to develop new AI algorithms or to use them in new and innovative ways, taking ethical, social, and legal issues into account," he points out.

Reasons for excitement

This new period of euphoria in relation to the possible benefits of using AI is due to three factors, according to Jaime Simão Sichman, from EP: the current low cost of processing and memory, the emergence of new paradigms such as deep neural networks, and the huge amount of data available on the internet due to the large use of resources such as networks and social media.

Sichman warns that there are potential risks in this "technology, as in any other, which can be provoked if the actors involved in the production and regulation of its use do not create an adequate space for discussing these issues."

According to Teresa Bernarda Ludermir, from UFPE's Computer Center, the "extraordinary" advance of AI in recent years and its importance in solving technological and economic problems is mainly due to machine learning techniques, especially the use of neural networks. In addition to addressing the current status of the area, and its research challenges and opportunities, her article mentions social impacts and ethical issues arising from the uses of AI.

The changes that have occurred in AI since its emergence, especially regarding educational systems, are the object of the panorama presented by Rosa Maria Vicari, from UFRGS's Institute of Informatics. The researcher recalls that in 1980 and 1993 "the applications were interesting, but did not provide adequate answers in terms of language comprehension and medical diagnosis." In the last two decades, however, "the applications have remained, but there have been advancements in automatic translation, image recognition, cancer diagnosis. and autonomous cars."

Some applications

Nine researchers from UNICAMP's Institute of Computing are the authors of an article on digital forensic science, which is the use of scientific methods and techniques for investigating crimes in the digital world. According to them, the current importance reflects from the challenges resulting from the emergence of social media and the immense volume of data that they generate, intensified by the advances of AI. Such amount of data is analyzed using AI techniques. The article presents challenges and opportunities associated with the application of these techniques, and examples of their use in real situations.

A specific case in which AI plays a fundamental role is natural language processing (NLP), which is essential for analyzing large amounts of data contained in texts, among other uses. The topic is discussed by Marcelo Finger, from USP's Institute of Mathematics and Statistics (IME), in particular regarding the Portuguese language. He explains that the NLP is at the confluence of areas such as computer science, linguistics, logic, psychology, among others, and requires a multidisciplinary approach by nature.

However, all the advancements in NLP with the consequent generation of products and the facilitation of a series of services "seem to have brought no substantial information about the human process of reproducing and communicating through language," says the researcher. Following this line of reasoning, "natural language processing would have dissociated itself from language study." There are those who say that "technology will eventually kill the traditional study of language," he adds. For Finger, these two views are exaggerated: "Linguistics is absolutely fundamental for the area of language processing, since this computational task does not explain the language, and does not help to predict or explain the natural evolution of languages."

Ana Bazzan, from UFRGS's Informatics Institute, analyzes the use of AI to improve transportation systems. For her, the application of AI in the service can improve the use of the existing infrastructure in order to better meet the demand of displacement of people and goods. Her article addresses two tasks in which AI has relevant contributions in the sector: the control of traffic lights and the choice of routes.

Impacts on labour

The dossier ends with an article by Ricardo Abramovay, a senior professor at USP's Institute of Energy and Environment (IEE), on one of the issues that most concern society with regard to AI: the loss of job positions. The author states that, although the most advanced forms of the digital revolution (AI, machine learning, and the internet of things) are replacing a considerable part of the workforce, "this is not where its greatest threat lies." The problem is that this revolution "is strengthening a social polarization of the labour market that goes against the foundations of the welfare state in the 20th century," he says.

According to Abramovay, "the place of work in the cohesion of contemporary societies involves a fundamental philosophical discussion: what work is, what employment is, but more than that, how we can make our capacity for cooperation result in a better life for everyone in ways that are not unworthy and undervalued for the overwhelming majority, alongside creative and uplifting activities for a small minority."

Other sections

In addition to the main dossier, the issue includes an encouraging study on the diversity of higher education institutions in Brazil, a set of texts on urban agriculture, and reviews of five editorial releases.

In terms of pursued objectives and obtained results, this diversity requires an effort to classify the institutions by similarity of profile, establishing different evaluation criteria for each group. This is what the article "For a Typology of Brazilian Higher Education: Test of Conception," by Simon Schwartzman, Roberto Lobo Silva Filho, and Rooney Coelho, proposes.

According to the authors, the differences between the institutions are not recognized with all the implications by the legislation or by the evaluation system adopted by the Ministry of Education. The article presents a typology proposal that seeks to clearly identify these differences in order to serve as a basis for an information system and evaluation procedures.

To this end, the researchers propose to group institutions with similar profiles from the point of view of their size, legal nature, and involvement in teaching and postgraduate activities, in addition to verifying the extent to which this differentiation corresponds with the diversity of characteristics of professors, students, and their segment. The final part of the study discusses some of the implications of the typology for the higher education assessment system and for improving the quality and performance of higher education in the country.

Urban agriculture

According to the editor of Estudos Avançados, the articles on "Urban Agriculture" address specific issues connected with each other as modalities and alternatives for the promotion of food security.

The six texts discuss the multifunctionality, production, and commercialization of urban agriculture, its association with agroecology, the importance of community gardens and backyard gardens, and the contradictions of locavorism (food activism that emerged in the past decade and privileges the consumption of locally produced food) in the face of the experiences of urban agriculture in São Paulo.

Reviews

A set of six reviews addresses works with varied themes, including geology, history, intellectual production, and literature. Ricardo Soares and Wilson Machado write about "The Anthropocene as a Geological Time Unit: A Guide to the Scientific Evidence and Current Debate," which gathers data from the 35th International Geological Congress, held in 2016. Camila Ferreira da Silva and Janderson Bragança Ribeiro review Sobre o Autoritarismo Brasileiro ("About Brazilian Authoritarianism"), by Lilia Moritz Schwarcz. Fabio Mascaro Querido addresses Seja como For: Entrevistas, Retratos e Documentos ("Whichever Way: Interviews, Portraits, and Documents"), by Roberto Schwarz. Mariana Holms analyzes O Homem que Aprendeu o Brasil ("The Man Who Learned Brazil"), by Ana Cecília Impellizieri Martins (2020). Cecilia Marks writes about Franco Moretti's O Romance de Formação ("The Romance of Formation").

The network of University-Based Institutes for Advanced Study (UBIAS) has opened the selection process for the 4th edition of the Intercontinental Academia (ICA), whose theme is "Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence." Early and mid-career researchers with a doctorate and fluency in English can apply. Applications from researchers linked to any academic institution or with links to industry, non-governmental organizations, artistic or other institutions are welcome, provided that they have a position equivalent to that of a professor or researcher.

A virtual meeting will take place in June 2021, followed by two immersion meetings - the first in October 2021, in Paris, and the second in June 2022, in Belo Horizonte. The French Network of Institutes for Advanced Study (RFIEA) and the Institute of Advanced Transdisciplinary Studies (IEAT) at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) are the hosts.

The Intercontinental Academia brings together young researchers from different countries and fields of study to study a single topic. In 2015, the IEA hosted the first phase of the program's inaugural edition, organized in partnership with the Institute for Advanced Research (IAR) at Nagoya University.

Applications
Submissions must be made through applications-ica4@rfiea.fr until March 31, 2021.

Mentors and fellows
At the meetings, selected participants will have the chance to discuss research topics with a notable group of mentors, who were previously invited to participate in this edition of the Intercontinental Academia.

Candidates affiliated to USP must undergo prior selection by the local scientific committee. If the University endorses the application and it is approved in the final selection, then USP will be responsible for supporting the participant for the immersive meetings. The sending of doubts and the complete documentation must be made through the address rkmeckien@usp.br until March 11, 2021.

CALL for fellows – Intercontinental Academia

UBIAS network
Started in 2010, the Ubias network currently congregates around 50 institutes for advanced study around the world and has the proposal to promote an environment for the exchange of experiences between researchers from different areas, cultures, and backgrounds, creating a productive space for innovative research. One of the most successful initiatives of the Ubias network is the Intercontinental Academia (ICA), in which the scientific exchange between generations, disciplines, cultures, and continents takes place around a major theme. More at www.ubias.net.

Digital revolution proposes a different model of society, deeply dependent on information and data. In almost any area of knowledge, managing, organizing and analyzing these data is critical to taking a prominent position. In order to meet this demand, mechanisms such as artificial intelligence and machine learning have gained relevance. The IEA will host the conference 'Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Current State, Trends and Social Aspects' to discuss the advancement of these technologies on May 3, at 10.00 am. There will be a live webcast.

The lecturer will be Professor André Ponce de Leon F. de Carvalho, from USP's Institute of Mathematical and Computer Sciences (ICMC) at the São Carlos campus. Glauco Arbix, a professor of USP's Faculty of Philosophy, Languages and Literature, and Human Sciences (FFLCH), and coordinator of IEA's Innovation and Competitiveness Observatory, will be the moderator.

The most remarkable aspects of machine learning as well as the main applications will be presented. Some of them allow social benefits in addition to obvious economic advantages. Nowadays, machine learning is being used to detect bank frauds, to improve search engines, to recognize faces, pupils and gestures in videos, to increase software security, to guide autonomous vehicles, to predict diseases in patients and to various other functions.

The increasing use of these tools, however, makes the apprehension with the good use of their techniques also increase. The recent scandal surrounding Facebook and data policy has made this unease clear. According to the organizers of the event, "concerns such as transparency, privacy and respect for legislation need to be addressed and will do so in the speech."