The KAUST Winter Enrichment Program (WEP) 2024 will take place from January 7-18 with the theme "Digital Adventure – ride to the future." The program will focus on the effects of AI on health, environment, and economies, as well as entrepreneurial and cultural opportunities. Xin Gao and Michael Berumen are the chairs of this year's event, which includes lectures, panel discussions, and workshops. Why it matters: The WEP program provides a venue for cross-disciplinary discussion on the impact of AI and related technologies, fostering innovation and collaboration within Saudi Arabia and beyond.
The Augmented Humans International Conference 2025 (AHs) was held at MBZUAI in Abu Dhabi, focusing on technology's role in advancing human capabilities. The conference, in cooperation with ACM, attracted over 180 researchers to discuss innovations from AI-enhanced storytelling to AI-enhanced prosthetics. The program included talks, papers, posters, demonstrations, and workshops on topics like AR/VR interaction, bionic systems, and cognitive augmentation with AI. Why it matters: Hosting AHs at MBZUAI highlights the UAE's growing role as a hub for AI research and its applications in enhancing human potential.
The 31st International Conference on Computational Linguistics (COLING 2025) will be held in Abu Dhabi in January 2025, hosted by Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI). COLING is a major biennial NLP and AI conference that brings together leaders from research centers, academia, and industry. The conference will feature keynote talks, presentations, workshops, and tutorials, with 1,500 expected participants. Why it matters: Hosting COLING underscores the UAE's growing role in AI and NLP research and provides a platform to address regional linguistic challenges and advance AI technologies.