University hosts international meeting on artificial intelligence and human development

Can artificial intelligence (AI) contribute to human flourishing? This was the question articulated by the international workshop AI for Flourishingorganized by the University of Navarra at its Pamplona campus . During the meeting, an initiative of the the data Science and Artificial Intelligence Institute (DATAI) and the and the School of Economicsexperts in technology, ethics and Economics analyzed the role that AI can play beyond its technical dimension, addressing its social, cultural and labor implications.

During the workshop, researchers from Spain, the United Kingdom and Romania debated the impact that AI systems have on the integral development of people and social cohesion. The event included the participation of figures such as Ricardo Baeza-Yates (Barcelona Supercomputing Center), Mihaela Constantinescu (University of Bucharest), Pablo García Ruiz (University of Zaragoza) and Peter Kawalek (Loughborough Business School), together with academics from the University of Navarra such as Dulce M. Redín, Alejo José G. Sison, and DATAI researchers Jesús López Fidalgo and Stella Salvatierra.

The panels were structured around critical issues such as the risks of invisible algorithms -addressed by Baeza-Yates in his discussion paper The Dark Side of AI-; the daily coexistence with language models such as ChatGPT, presented by Constantinescu; or the regulation of AI in work environments, developed by García Ruiz. Kawalek, for his part, focused his talk on the challenge of human attention in an environment saturated with automated stimuli.

"The digitization of human activity and advances in computational power have generalized the use of AI in all sectors," said Redín, coordinator of the meeting. "While this technology brings significant benefits, it also calls for ethical and social reflection on how it can contribute positively to people's holistic development ."

The workshop was held in an international context marked by the discussion on AI regulation - with proposals such as the European Union's AI Act - and by the growing presence of intelligent systems in everyday life, from work to leisure and Education.

According to the organizers, the goal of the meeting was to foster an open and rigorous dialogue between disciplines, contributing to a better understanding of AI as a social phenomenon and not just a technological one. It is planned that the initiative will be continued in future editions and that lines of partnership will be opened with European and Latin American research centers.