Tue, 10/09/2024
10:30 - 12:30 Newtownpark Pastoral Centre
The impressive performance of AI systems such as ChatGPT has led to a lot of speculation about the ultimate potential of this technology. This talk will address this question. It will start with the early research in this area, beginning with the Turing Test for intelligence proposed by Alan Turing in the 1950s. Most people would accept that ChatGPT would pass the Turing Test. However, systems such as ChatGPT seem to be ‘intelligent’ without understanding or consciousness. Are these systems a huge leap forward in AI research? Do they present an existential threat for humankind? During this talk we will discuss in high level terms how these systems work and speculate on the limitations of the technology. Pádraig Cunningham is Professor of Knowledge and Data Engineering in the School of Computer Science in University College Dublin. He has a PhD in the general area of Artificial Intelligence from Trinity College Dublin awarded in 1989 and a DSc from the National University of Ireland awarded in 2014. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers in the general area of applied AI, focusing on machine learning and knowledge based systems for decision support in engineering, e-commerce, finance and medicine. His most recent research addresses issues of bias and fairness in machine learning systems. His teaching in UCD focuses on machine learning and data analytics. When not teaching and researching in AI he is a keen hiker and recreational cyclist.
Tue, 24/09/2024
10:30 - 12:30 Newtownpark Pastoral Centre
Emma Teeling is the Full Professor of Zoology at University College Dublin (UCD), She graduated from University College Dublin with a BSc in Zoology, then obtained an MSc in Animal Behavior from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, studying the captive behavior of the endangered swift fox in Canada. Her PhD was awarded from Queen’s University Belfast, during which she spent two years at the University of California Riverside, USA working with Mark Springer reconstructing the evolutionary relationships of bats by generating the first large molecular phylogenies. She continued this research during her postdoc at the National Institutes of Health, Maryland USA under the supervision of Stephen O’Brien until returned to Ireland to start her faculty position at UCD, integrating cutting-edge molecular technology with field-based ecology and behavioural studies to develop bats as unique model study species. For the past twelve years she has pioneered the study of wild bats as new models of extended mammalian healthspan uniting field, molecular, cellular and genomic studies to uncover how bats slow down expected ageing and resist disease, collaborating with researchers throughout the globe. She has been awarded prestigious personal grants for her research including a President of Ireland Young Researcher Award; an Irish Research Council (IRC) Laureate Award; European Research Council (ERC) Starting grant, ERC Synergy Grant. She has been awarded Chevalier des Palmes Académiques, by the French Government; the Murray Lectureship from University of Sydney; the Miller Award by the North American Bat Research Society, and Commended Irish Research Council Researcher of the Year Award (2023), for her research. She is an elected member of the Royal Irish Academy and has given countless high-profile public presentations throughout the globe (e.g. World Economic Forum, TED, European Parliament and European Commission) highlighting her findings.
Tue, 01/10/2024
11:30 - 01:30
Tour can accommodate 40 people in two groups of 20. The price is €5 per person.
Tue, 08/10/2024
10:30 - 12:30 Newtownpark Pastoral Centre
Catherine Daly is a Senior Occupational Therapist with a special interest in brain health, memory impairment and dementia. She holds a BSc and MSc in Occupational Therapy, focussing her research on dementia in both under-graduate and post-graduate studies. Catherine has spent her career working with people with memory impairment, in settings such as residential care, primary care and mental health. Catherine is currently working in the Memory Harbour, a HSE Memory Technology Resource Room, based on the grounds of Clonskeagh Hospital. Here, Catherine provides occupational therapy intervention, tailored therapeutic programmes and support to clients affected by memory difficulties and their families.
Tue, 22/10/2024
10:30 - 12:30 Newtownpark Pastoral Centre
Over the course of WWII, some 50-plus Irish men and women risked their lives to resist Nazi occupation. Some of them took up arms; others gathered intelligence, sheltered fugitives, hid Jews, carried messages, committed acts of sabotage or parachuted behind enemy lines. Some of them even died for the Resistance. Clodagh Finn will talk about her research uncovering those ordinary heroes whose work has, until now, passed under the radar. Clodagh Finn is a journalist and author of a number of books, including A Time to Risk All, a biography of Mary Elmes, the ‘Irish Oskar Schindler’ and, most recently, (with John Morgan) The Irish in the Resistance (both Gill Books). She writes An Irishwoman’s Diary in the Irish Examiner and has worked as a sub-editor and feature writer for several newspapers, as well as a freelance writer and editor in Paris. She has a degree in French and Archaeology from UCD and is particularly interested in writing about overlooked stories from history.
Tue, 05/11/2024
10:30 - 12:30 Newtownpark Pastoral Centre
Details to follow
Tue, 19/11/2024
10:30 - 12:30 Newtownpark Pastoral Centre
Details to follow
Print Date: 27 Jul 2024