MBZUAI has launched The Academy, a global platform for AI knowledge exchange, along with the world’s first AI x Arts Fellowship. The inaugural cohort of eight fellows includes artists and innovators like Refik Anadol and Amrita Sethi, who will participate in residency programs in Abu Dhabi in 2026. The Academy also encompasses the MBZUAI Executive Program (MEP), which empowers UAE leaders to leverage AI. Why it matters: This initiative signals MBZUAI's commitment to fostering interdisciplinary collaboration between AI and the arts, positioning Abu Dhabi as a hub for innovative AI applications in culture and heritage.
KAUST research photographer Anastasia Khrenova designed a scientific art display for the 2018 Winter Enrichment Program (WEP). The "Visualizing the Human Machine Future" exhibition showcased photographs and scientific illustrations from KAUST laboratories. The exhibit aimed to communicate science nonverbally and provide viewers with a glimpse into the university's research activities. Why it matters: Such initiatives help promote scientific research to the public and attract potential researchers to KAUST, fostering a greater understanding and appreciation of scientific endeavors in the region.
This article previews a talk by Gül Varol from Ecole des Ponts ParisTech on bridging natural language and 3D human motions. The talk will cover text-to-motion synthesis using generative models and text-to-motion retrieval models based on the ACTOR, TEMOS, TMR, TEACH, and SINC papers. Varol's research interests include video representation learning, human motion synthesis, and sign languages. Why it matters: Research in this area could enable more intuitive human-computer interaction and new applications in areas like virtual reality and robotics.
KAUST computer scientist Mohamed Elhoseiny and his VISION CAIR team developed Creative Walk Adversarial Networks (CWAN) for novel art generation. CWAN learns from existing art styles and deviates using 'random walk deviation' methods. Human evaluators preferred CWAN-generated art compared to other methods like StyleGAN2. Why it matters: The research demonstrates AI's potential as a valuable tool for artists, enabling the creation of unique and meaningful art, and explores more effective emotional language in image captioning.
Prof. George Alexandropoulos from the AI and Digital Science Research Center (AIDRC) at TII presented a keynote at the RIS Technical Alliance (RISTA) forum. The presentation focused on hybrid reconfigurable intelligent surfaces for wireless communication and sensing applications. He discussed the role of RIS technology in enabling smart wireless environments within 5G and 6G networks. Why it matters: This highlights the UAE's contribution to cutting-edge research in next-generation wireless communication technologies and its potential impact on future network architectures.