On the afternoon of November 9, 2024, the Forum on Intelligent Connected System and Applications kicked off in the third lecture hall of Engineering Management and Intelligent Manufacturing Research Center. Five internationally renowned scholars were invited to the forum, including Prof. Yanchun Zhang from Victoria University, Australia, Prof. Guandong Xu from Education University of Hong Kong, Prof. Xitong Li from HEC Paris, Prof. Jun Shen from University of Wollongong, and Associate Prof. Quan Bai from University of Tasmania, to share their frontier research interests and discuss the latest advances and future trends in the field. The forum was co-hosted by Dean Qiang Zhang, Associate Dean Yuanchun Jiang, and Prof. Dongxiao Gu of the School of Management.
Opening Speech by Dean Qiang Zhang
With the theme “Innovative Applications of Medical Big Data Mining and AI in Disease Diagnosis, Patient Monitoring and Warning Health Management”, Prof. Yanchun Zhang shared the research and application scenarios related to the use of machine learning and data mining technologies for medical and healthcare data, and introduced data integration, data mining, data correlation analysis, as well as patient monitoring, analysis and early warning based on medical data with examples.
Prof. Yanchun Zhang gave a keynote speech
With the theme “From Association To Causation - Explainable Data Analytics”, Prof. Guandong Xu proposed that AI algorithms nowadays lack transparency and explainability, and there are limitations to its application in traditional fields such as healthcare, finance, and politics, and thus explainable data analysis is expected to become one of the important future directions of AI development. Starting from the theoretical foundation of causal inference and causal counterfactual explanation, he introduced the causality-inspired recommendation and the recommendation based on conformal prediction.
Prof. Guandong Xu gave a keynote speech
With the theme “My Advisor, Her AI and Me: Evidence from a Field Experiment on Human-AI Collaboration and Investment Decisions”, Prof. Xitong Li explored whether human-AI collaboration is more advantageous than pure AI-based solutions in investment decision making. Based on data analysis and empirical research, he concluded that clients align their final investments with advice to a greater extent under the human-AI condition, offering new insights on incorporating human intervention in AI-based consulting services.
Prof. Xitong Li gave a keynote speech
With the theme “Smart Education in Web 3 and its Commercialisation”, Prof. Jun Shen explored the possibility of sustainable development of Open Educational Resources (OER) sharing research, and introduced a novel framework based on the Web3 economic model aiming to establish a future-oriented OER ecosystem.
Prof. Jun Shen gave a keynote speech
With the theme “Moving Toward Proactive Artificial Intelligence”, Associate Prof. Quan Bai indicated that as AI continues to evolve, a significant shift is occurring from reactive systems to proactive AI models. He argued that unlike traditional AI, which only passively learns, proactive AI can initiate actions based on contextual understanding and predictive analytics, which has the ability to influence external environments and even shape human behaviors.
Associate Prof. Quan Bai gave a keynote speech
During the forum, Dean Qiang Zhang also introduced the University's talent policy in detail to all the experts, and had in-depth discussions with them on the introduction and cultivation of high-level talents, e.g. the Excellent Young Scientists Fund Program (Overseas). The forum attracted numerous teachers and students from domestic universities and technicians from high-tech enterprises. The success of this forum not only strengthened the connections between the School of Management and the international academia, but also established a platform for experts, scholars and industry practitioners in related fields, while bringing rich knowledge and inspiration to the participants.
(Written by Tao Ye, Photographed by Huang Changxing, Reviewed by Jiang Yuanchun)
