Facing the trend of digital transformation and sustainable development, international heavy hitters of various fields rubbed shoulders at National Chung Cheng University
When global governments and enterprises have both listed "sustainability" and "digital transformation" as their primary development goals, digital trends are all the rage around the world, which have already had a comprehensive impact on human civilization. National Chung Cheng University (CCU) held the "2022 International Conference on Digital Transformation and Sustainable Development" on December 6th, especially inviting global outstanding experts and scholars from different fields. Through cross-border conversations, they deeply analyzed how to focus on trustworthy AI so as to meet the challenges and opportunities brought by digital transformation and sustainable development.
The “2022 International Conference on Digital Transformation and Sustainable Development” was co-organized by CCU Research Center on Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability, the Advanced Institute of Manufacturing with High-Tech Innovations, and the Taiwan-India Joint Research Center on Artificial Intelligence, with trustworthy AI applied to sustainable smart cities and social morality as the topic. As for the guests, they invited Jesse Arlen Smith, who has international influence and is the founder of the NGO AI for Good, Dr. Lichia Yiu, the CEO of The Centre for Socio-Eco-Nomic Development (CSEND) in Switzerland, Raymond Saner, a world-renowned digital transformation expert, and other specialists to the conference.
Dr. Pao-Ann Hsiung, the Director of the CCU Office of Information Technology and the Director of the CCU Research Center on Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability suggested that small and medium enterprises in Taiwan need digital transformation urgently, but most of them do not know how to take the first step. Concurrently, the European Union Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (EU CBAM) will be implemented in 2026, which is doomed to cause a second tremendous impact on small and medium enterprises after the pandemic era.
In the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) goal 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, there are three aspects: economy, environment, and culture set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), including 91 quantitative indicators. Jesse, the founder of AI for Good pointed out that AI can promote social morality. For example, in recent years, illicit drugs have invaded campuses by dealing in private or in other diversified ways, making it difficult to bring the sources of the illicit drug supply chain to justice. Thankfully, with data learning, trustworthy AI is able to recognize the composition of the illicit drug supply chain and thus can further trace back to the sources, which effectively assists the campus in drug abuse control and prevention.
In addition, Jesse mentioned that global social issues such as the conservation of plants and animals, environmental conservation, reactions to disasters, health and welfare, etc., are all applicable to trustworthy AI. In terms of sustainable smart cities, Dr. Hsiung noted that trustworthy AI-related technologies can be applied to traffic, air, and water pollution, including interpretability of data and models, design of privacy framework, system information security, social equity, autonomy, etc.
The momentous revolution in digital technology is contributed by the development of AI technology. However, the wide application of AI is accompanied with risks at the same time. AI must be counseled and regulated, which can not only make it take effect but also gain trust, and hence become a "trustworthy AI". Dr. Hsiung indicated that CCU has sufficient capacity in frontier technology, AI and also in humanities and social sciences research, and is able to play the role of the bellwether in the field of sustainable development at home and abroad. This time, the conference connected the perspectives of industry, government, academia, research, and non-governmental organization, hoping to brainstorm together on how to promote society’s trust in emerging technologies and establish the significance of trustworthy AI.
The “2022 International Conference on Digital Transformation and Sustainable Development” was co-organized by CCU Research Center on Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability, the Advanced Institute of Manufacturing with High-Tech Innovations, and the Taiwan-India Joint Research Center on Artificial Intelligence, with trustworthy AI applied to sustainable smart cities and social morality as the topic. As for the guests, they invited Jesse Arlen Smith, who has international influence and is the founder of the NGO AI for Good, Dr. Lichia Yiu, the CEO of The Centre for Socio-Eco-Nomic Development (CSEND) in Switzerland, Raymond Saner, a world-renowned digital transformation expert, and other specialists to the conference.
Dr. Pao-Ann Hsiung, the Director of the CCU Office of Information Technology and the Director of the CCU Research Center on Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability suggested that small and medium enterprises in Taiwan need digital transformation urgently, but most of them do not know how to take the first step. Concurrently, the European Union Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (EU CBAM) will be implemented in 2026, which is doomed to cause a second tremendous impact on small and medium enterprises after the pandemic era.
In the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) goal 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, there are three aspects: economy, environment, and culture set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), including 91 quantitative indicators. Jesse, the founder of AI for Good pointed out that AI can promote social morality. For example, in recent years, illicit drugs have invaded campuses by dealing in private or in other diversified ways, making it difficult to bring the sources of the illicit drug supply chain to justice. Thankfully, with data learning, trustworthy AI is able to recognize the composition of the illicit drug supply chain and thus can further trace back to the sources, which effectively assists the campus in drug abuse control and prevention.
In addition, Jesse mentioned that global social issues such as the conservation of plants and animals, environmental conservation, reactions to disasters, health and welfare, etc., are all applicable to trustworthy AI. In terms of sustainable smart cities, Dr. Hsiung noted that trustworthy AI-related technologies can be applied to traffic, air, and water pollution, including interpretability of data and models, design of privacy framework, system information security, social equity, autonomy, etc.
The momentous revolution in digital technology is contributed by the development of AI technology. However, the wide application of AI is accompanied with risks at the same time. AI must be counseled and regulated, which can not only make it take effect but also gain trust, and hence become a "trustworthy AI". Dr. Hsiung indicated that CCU has sufficient capacity in frontier technology, AI and also in humanities and social sciences research, and is able to play the role of the bellwether in the field of sustainable development at home and abroad. This time, the conference connected the perspectives of industry, government, academia, research, and non-governmental organization, hoping to brainstorm together on how to promote society’s trust in emerging technologies and establish the significance of trustworthy AI.