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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

Mafikizolo and Francois van Coke to perform at Kovsie Extravaganza

2015-09-09

What better way is there to welcome spring than to invite beautiful voices into our backyard? The Arts and Culture office at the University of the Free State (UFS) presents the annual Kovsie Extravaganza, a major highlight on our entertainment calendar.

This year, the musical festival features Mafikizolo and Fracois van Coke as the main acts.

Mafikizolo is an award-winning South African Kwaito duo consisting of Theo Kgosinkwe and Nhlanhla Nciza. The group has accumulated statuettes at the South African Music Awards for Duo of the Year in 2004, 2007 and 2014. Moreover, they have recently released Best Of 2015 - their latest album.

Francois van Coke is also scheduled to indulge Alternate Rock fans with tracks from his newly-released solo debut album. Francois is the lead vocalist, songwriter and founding member of the South African rock bands Fokofpolisiekar and Van Coke Kartel.

The Extravaganza stage will also be shared by our very own UFS Choir, and various students showcasing their musical, dance, poetry and other talents.

Event details:

Date: Saturday 12 September 2015

Time: 19:00

Place: Kovsie Kerk, Bloemfontein Campus

Tickets are available at R120 for the general public and R80 for students. For more information, contact Tonderai Chiyindiko on 051 401 9349 or Chiyindikot@ufs.ac.za.

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