Research Topics

Artificial Intelligence

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AI delivers opportunities and creates risks

Artificial intelligence is a tool that can improve our lives. It can help improve decision-making by modelling outcomes of government policies, or detect small changes in scan images that the human eye may not spot.

But it also comes with challenges. Machine learning involves processing millions of images from people who may not have consented to their data being used in this way. Algorithms may be developed without diversity in mind, putting women and BAME people at risk. And the power needed for AI consumes huge resources at a time when climate change is an increasing threat.

Artificial intelligence is an interdisciplinary topic, from the development of algorithms by departments in the Faculty of Science and Health, to regulation and the impact on life, researched by our Faculties of Social Sciences, and Arts and Humanities.

In the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering (CSEE) experts are working on projects where AI can be used to solve issues and assist in tasks. Computer vision and machine learning can be combined to detect cancers from routine scans (improve survival rates through early detection and treatment), and improve traffic flows by responding to congestion (reducing emissions and improving air quality).

Through work with the School of Life Sciences, CSEE have also created systems to deliver early warnings about crop conditions (improving yield and reducing waste), and developed robotic systems to identify and pick ripe strawberries.

Essex Law School has carried out multiple projects on the regulation of AI and the impact of its use on human rights. This includes the use of algorithms to monitor health and it's impact on privacy, to the development of artificial intelligence-guided weapons and their use in conflicts. Academics in law have also collaborated on projects with the Department of Sociology and Criminology, with a focus on how law enforcement uses AI technology (for example, identifying people at protests). The training of artificial intelligence involves huge amounts of personal data, and the collection and use of this is a risk to right to privacy.

The impact on human life is also studied by researchers in Essex Business School and the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science. While artificial intelligence can improve the efficiency of businesses (such as estate agents and ports), it can also be used by employers to monitor staff in ways that breach people's privacy rights, and may also replace jobs. Artificial intelligence also carries risk of bias leading to discrimination by businesses, such as the use of AI for sifting job applications (which has led to bias against women).

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Brighter Futures: The Apple and Isaac - Your Devices and Cybersecurity

In this video Professor Jules Pretty is joined by Professor Klaus McDonald-Maier from the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, to discuss the transformation of our lives thanks to technology, and the risks and challenges such technology presents.

Watch the video

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