Vice Chancellor Renetta G. Tull highlights UC Davis AI research at Organization of American States meeting
Renetta Garrison Tull, UC Davis vice chancellor for Inclusive Excellence, presented examples of the university’s artificial intelligence research and educational initiatives Oct. 16 at the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C. Her presentation, “Artificial Intelligence: Examples in Research & Development,” was part of the Eleventh Regular Meeting of the Inter-American Committee on Science and Technology. The meeting brought together ministers, senior officials and experts to advance the safe, secure and trustworthy development and use of AI across the Americas, including its role in workforce preparation, research and economic opportunity.
The presentation highlighted work across the College of Engineering and collaborations with the School of Medicine. Examples included André Knoesen’s electrical and computer engineering pilot using AI to help evaluate handwritten exams while keeping grading decisions in human hands; Ian Davidson’s research examining ethical considerations in AI-supported health decisions; and Vladimir Filkov’s work applying AI to medical diagnostics and report annotation. Tull also featured a project from Ilias Tagkopoulos and colleagues at the USDA AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems that helps AI assistants identify and select tools to complete tasks.
Contributions from Raissa D’Souza, director of the Artificial Intelligence Center in Engineering, and Aisha Jackson, chief information and digital strategy executive, emphasized collaboration across disciplines and preparing students to use AI responsibly, understand bias and evaluate AI outputs critically. Tull connected these efforts with the UC Davis Principles of Community, emphasizing human dignity and inclusive participation in technological innovation. She concluded with an adaptation of her Community Equation, inviting participants to consider how attention and resources can support collaboration across the countries, universities and organizations that make up the OAS community.
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