Chess grandmaster Susan Polgar visited KAUST during the 2018 Winter Enrichment Program and played a simultaneous chess exhibition with 10 KAUST Chess Club members, winning against all of them. Polgar also delivered a lecture on how AI has transformed the chess world, referencing the 1997 IBM supercomputer victory over Garry Kasparov. She expressed being impressed by KAUST's facilities and the resources available to faculty and students. Why it matters: This event highlights KAUST's engagement with AI-related topics beyond traditional research, showcasing the university as a hub for diverse intellectual discussions.
Najwa Aaraj, Chief Researcher at the Cryptography Research Centre at TII, has joined MBZUAI as the first female faculty member in the Machine Learning Department. Aaraj leads R&D of cryptographic technologies, including post-quantum cryptography and lightweight cryptographic libraries. Her research will focus on the intersection of cryptography, cybersecurity, and machine learning, including using ML for cryptanalysis and protecting ML models with cryptography. Why it matters: This appointment strengthens MBZUAI's expertise in a critical area of AI security and cryptography, fostering cross-disciplinary research and innovation in the UAE.
Ekaterina Vylomova from the University of Melbourne gave a talk on using NLP models to advance research in linguistic morphology, typology, and social psychology. The talk covered using models to study morphology, phonetic changes in words over time, and diachronic changes in language semantics. Vylomova presented the UniMorph project, a cross-lingual annotation schema and database with morphological paradigms for over 150 languages. Why it matters: This research demonstrates the potential of NLP to contribute to a deeper understanding of language evolution and structure, with applications in linguistic research and the study of social and cultural changes.
Climber, author, and wingsuit pilot Steph Davis spoke to the KAUST community on January 15 as part of the 2017 Winter Enrichment Program. The event was captured in photos by Lilit Hovhannisyan. The program was held at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Why it matters: Such enrichment programs can broaden the horizons of the KAUST community.
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Saudi Arabia is reportedly leading globally in the empowerment of women in artificial intelligence, driven by various groundbreaking national initiatives. These efforts aim to integrate women into the rapidly growing AI sector and position the Kingdom as a leader in this domain. The announcement comes from the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), highlighting the country's strategic focus on human capital development in AI. Why it matters: This signifies a major policy push within Saudi Arabia to diversify its workforce and enhance its AI ecosystem through gender inclusion, aligning with broader national development goals.
The first International Olympiad in AI for high school students will be held in Bulgaria from August 9-15, 2024. Organized by the LERAI Foundation, the competition will test students on machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing. Sponsors include Google and MBZUAI, with organizers hoping participants pursue further AI education and careers. Why it matters: This event aims to cultivate global AI talent and could increase interest in AI education and careers in the GCC region, particularly at MBZUAI.