School of Computing hosts Research Day

The  University of Georgia School of Computing held its second annual Research Day on Nov. 17. Keynote speaker Irfan Essa, senior associate dean of the College of Computing at Georgia Tech, explained recent developments of artificial intelligence and how these advancements may impact society, the Red&Black reports:

“Ask not when, or if, AI will replace people,” Essa said. “Ask when people using AI will replace people not using AI.”

There was also computer science trivia and a panel discussion, in addition to the keynote address. Anna Stenport, Dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, opened with a speech emphasizing the importance of the new School of Computing and all the new possibilities that come with the establishment of this interdisciplinary school.

In July of 2022, UGA’s department of computer science was promoted to the School of Computing, and is jointly administered by the College of Engineering and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

“This is a jointly appointed school with broad horizons and a bright future,” Stenport said. “I have come to know, over just the past number of months that I've been on campus, the ways in which we embrace the distinctiveness of this School of Computing, because we embrace the old, the new and the ambitious.”

However, Stenport also said that new opportunities come with a responsibility to ethically consider how the power of computing is applied. Shelley Hooks, the Associate Vice-President of Research at UGA, seconded that, saying UGA was a particularly exciting place for computing and artificial intelligence fields.

Essa’s speech, titled Generative AI and Responsive AI, began with an explanation of what artificial intelligence is and the research and information that goes into its development. He said the interdisciplinary system requires an understanding of humans, as well as the map keys and ethics on how to deploy said systems.

Image: Keynote speaker Irfan Essa, the senior associate dean of the College of Computing at Georgia Tech, explains recent developments of artificial intelligence at the UGA School of Computing’s Research Day at Georgia Center in Athens, Georgia, on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023.