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Is AI the future of research?

02 November 2023 | Story NITHA RAMNATH | Photo SUPPLIED

The University of the Free State (UFS) is pleased to invite you to an online public lecture that will be presented by Prof Hussein Solomon, Senior Professor of Gender and Africa Studies at the UFS. Prof Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem, Head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Pretoria (UP), will respond.

Lecture description: Is AI the future of research? Experiences of co-authoring a book with machine-generated summaries.

The world is undergoing tectonic technological shifts that hold grave challenges to societies, universities, and researchers. For any researcher, the persistent challenge is to negotiate a plethora of different sources on the subject, which could be overwhelming. AI could be one means to facilitate the process of research. This, however, raises ethical questions as to the originality of research, issues of plagiarism, and the question of the individual researcher’s own intuition as opposed to software-generated prompts. Prof Solomon shares his experiences working on a machine-generated book.

Date: Monday, 27 November 2023

Time: 14:00-15:30

WATCH: www.ufs.ac.za/Webinar

For further information, contact Alicia Pienaar at pienaaran1@ufs.ac.za.

Speaker:

Prof Solomon is a Professor in the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies at the UFS. His research interests revolve around political Islam and issues of terrorism. His most recent books include African Security in the Anthropocene (with Jude Cocodia, Springer, 2023), The Future of War in Africa (with Eeben Barlow, Amazon Kindle, 2023), Intersectionality and LGBTQI Rights: A Comparative Analysis of Iran, Turkey and Egypt (with Simone Bekker, Nova Publishers, 2023), Directions in International Terrorism: Theories, Trends and Trajectories (Palgrave, 2021), Terrorism in Africa: New Trends and Frontiers (with Glen Segell and Sergey Kostelyanets, Institute for African Studies, Moscow, 2021), and Arab MENA Countries: Vulnerabilities and Constraints Against Democracy on the Eve of the Global COVID-19 Crisis (with Arno Tausch, Springer 2021).

Respondent:

Prof Ruttkamp-Bloem is Professor and Head of the Department of Philosophy at UP, the AI ethics lead at the Centre for AI Research (CAIR), and the chair of the Southern African Conference on AI Research (SACAIR). She is a philosopher of science and technology, an AI ethics policy adviser, a machine ethics researcher, and is an associate editor of the Science and Engineering Ethics journal. Prof Ruttkamp-Bloem led the UNESCO Ad Hoc Expert Group that prepared the draft of the 2021 UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, currently assists with implementing the recommendation, and is the current rapporteur for the UNESCO Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST). Prof Ruttkamp-Bloem has recently been appointed to the AI Advisory Body reporting to the Secretary General of the UN.

News Archive

UFS wins national serenade competition

2010-09-07

The men from Veritas show why they won the National “Sêr” competition.
Photo: Provided

After many months’ practice, sweat and late nights, the “sêr” group of Veritas, a men’s residence at the University of the Free State (UFS) managed to make name nationally and bring home a coveted crown.

At the recent National “Sêr” Competition hosted by Stellenbosch University (US), this group of talented young men made a clean sweep when they snatched up the prizes in the Men’s Residence section, the best performance of a song for their gospel medley, as well as the prize for the overall winners.

The competition, which took place at three venues, was attended by approximately 3 000 people. The competition was presented in the Endler Hall of the Music Conservatory of the US and the halls of the Secondary School Bloemhof and Paul Roos Gymnasium. According to Corneil Müller, one of the adjudicators at the Endler Hall, the majority of the adjudicators agreed that Veritas deserved the first prize. The other adjudicators at this hall were Karen Meiring, Bondina Osterhoff, Saranti Rheeders, Leonore Bredekamp and Sidumo Jacobs.

According to the head student of Veritas and second tenor in the “sêr” group, the group did not really expect to win all the prizes. However, when the audience gave them a standing ovation, the group started to think that the first prize really was within their reach.

Their gospel medley is close to the hearts of the entire group. It is the men’s way to say thank you for their talents. “It is a very special song for us – it means a lot to each one in our group,” says Herman. To win the prize with for this medley for the best performance of a song was the cherry on the top for these men. “We did not even know that such a prize existed!” says Herman.

The ladies of Sonnedou Residence’s “sêr” group also participated in the competition. This section of the competition was won by Vergeet-My-Nie from the North-West University (NWU).

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (actg.)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
7 September 2010

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