KAUST and the Social Responsibility Association (SRA) are hosting their third annual AI hackathon at KAUST with 73 participants from across Saudi Arabia. The hackathon aims to deliver 14 social projects in technology and innovation across the tracks of social issues, housing, tourism, and education. KAUST supports the event to foster entrepreneurship and transform ideas into scalable solutions that serve society. Why it matters: The event highlights the growing focus on AI-driven solutions for social challenges within Saudi Arabia, aligning with Vision 2030's goals for digital entrepreneurship.
Dr. Jindong Wang from Microsoft Research Asia gave a talk at MBZUAI about the limitations of large foundation models, including adapting to real-world unpredictability and security concerns. He also discussed the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to evaluate the benefits and risks of these models. Dr. Wang shared his research and insights on how to harness the power of large foundation models while addressing their constraints and fostering responsible AI integration. Why it matters: This highlights MBZUAI's role in hosting discussions about responsible AI development and the challenges of deploying foundation models.
KAUST and NESMA Holding Co. have signed an agreement to open an embroidery center in Thuwal. The center will include sewing, electronic embroidery, design, and thermal printing departments. The center aims to create job opportunities for Saudi women and people with disabilities, with a capacity to employ up to 60 women. Why it matters: This initiative highlights KAUST's commitment to social responsibility and to raising the standard of living in its host community, reflecting a broader trend of universities contributing to local development.
MBZUAI researchers introduce SocialMaze, a new benchmark for evaluating social reasoning capabilities in large language models (LLMs). SocialMaze includes six diverse tasks across social reasoning games, daily-life interactions, and digital community platforms, emphasizing deep reasoning, dynamic interaction, and information uncertainty. Experiments show that LLMs vary in handling dynamic interactions, degrade under uncertainty, but can be improved via fine-tuning on curated reasoning examples.
KAUST and the SFDA co-hosted the "Trends in Microbiome and Digital One Health" conference from October 30 to November 1, 2023, featuring 35 speakers from five continents. Discussions centered on microbiome science, digital tools for tracking microbial epidemiology, and their roles in the One Health concept. The conference facilitated the formation of a consortium for microbiome and Digital One Health research. Why it matters: This event highlights Saudi Arabia's growing focus on leveraging microbiome research and digital technologies to address public health challenges and promote international collaboration in the field.
KAUST and the Saudi Red Sea Authority (SRSA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on biodiversity sustainability and marine environment protection in the Red Sea. The collaboration will focus on assessing the impact of coastal tourism, exchanging expertise, and aligning strategies for new initiatives. The MoU aims to support Saudi Vision 2030 targets through strengthened local partnerships. Why it matters: This partnership demonstrates KAUST's commitment to environmental sustainability and highlights the growing importance of protecting the Red Sea's unique ecosystem amidst increasing tourism and development.
MBZUAI President Professor Eric Xing discussed AI's potential to augment human capabilities and the responsibility of AI researchers in shaping future leaders. Xing's background includes professorships at Carnegie Mellon University, leadership at Petuum Inc., and directorship of the Center for Machine Learning and Health. He also held visiting positions at Stanford University and Facebook Inc. Why it matters: The emphasis on responsible AI development and education aligns with the UAE's broader strategy to become a leader in ethical and human-centric AI.
MBZUAI-based startup LibrAI has launched the Libra-Leaderboard, an evaluation framework for LLMs that assesses both capability and safety. The leaderboard evaluates 26 mainstream LLMs using 57 datasets, assigning scores based on bias, misinformation, and oversensitivity. LibrAI also launched the Interactive Safety Arena to engage the public and educate them on AI safety through adversarial prompt testing. Why it matters: The Libra-Leaderboard provides a benchmark for responsible AI development, emphasizing the importance of aligning AI capabilities with safety considerations in the rapidly evolving LLM landscape.