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Hello there, Thomas Schön on AI: “This technology is here to stay
THOMAS SCHÖN, newly appointed Beijer Professor of Artificial Intelligence, a post made possible by a grant of SEK 15 million from the Kjell and Märta Beijer Foundation.
Why is this the time for a professorship in artificial intelligence (AI)? “AI is a technology that is very much part of our existence; for example, safer vehicles and better healthcare are already saving lives. That said, there are areas in which we have barely begun to reflect on the opportunities it presents to us. What is clear however, is that this technology is here to stay, that its development is unremitting and that every choice we make today will impact on us in the future. So, we must quickly take command over what form we want it to take.” How will you be organising your work? “I see AI as a tool that can help us to meet many of the major challenges facing our society. When just over two years ago I was tasked with sketching a structure for Uppsala University’s work in the field, we therefore fairly quickly settled on an interdisciplinary profile. These forms are now ready and in the autumn we will be launching AI for Research, a five-year initiative in which researchers from all areas of the University will meet to develop ideas, perspectives and projects that will hopefully take on a life of their own at their respective home departments.” What will you yourself be bringing to the new environment? “Over 10 years of research into machine learning. This is a central component of AI in which computers learn to identify patterns and draw their own conclusions with the aid of data, mathematical models and algorithms. It should certainly not be confused with traditional intelligence and the ability to achieve complex objectives. Rather, these algorithms are like recipes – a set of ingredients that when correctly combined generate a specific result; for example, an automated interpretation of ECGs developed with Brazilian cardiologists that currently demonstrates accuracy in identifying the most common ECG deviations on a par with human doctors.” Where will AI for Research be in five years? “I arrived at Uppsala seven years ago as a newly appointed professor in automatic control with funding for two doctoral students. Today, we have a team of over 20 and are part of WASP, Sweden’s largest ever single research programme; my point being, that the upshift in AI has been so intense that it is difficult to make predictions. My ambition, however, is that we will generate flexible collaborations that contribute to education and research at Uppsala University and thereby make a clear and long-term contribution to strengthening Sweden’s AI profile.”
PHOTO: MATTON The battery’s active material is quinones, which occur in photosynthesis and are found commonly in nature.
New climate-smart battery charged with providing sustainable energy storage
Chemistry. Imagine being able to charge a battery in seconds using a solar cell. This is made possible by the new all-organic proton battery developed by researchers at Uppsala University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The battery can be charged and discharged over 500 times without any significant loss of capacity.
As the battery’s active material, the researchers have selected quinones, a class of organic carbon compounds that among other things occur in photosynthesis and are found commonly in nature. The particular property of quinones utilised by the researchers is the ability to absorb or emit hydrogen ions – which of course consist entirely of protons – during charging and discharging.
The electrolyte – i.e., the medium for transporting ions inside the battery – is an acidic aqueous solution. Aside from being environmentally friendly, this also provides a safe battery free from the risk of fire or explosion.
The researchers are now working on integrating the battery into fabrics that can be worn close to the body.
Why doesn’t the supervolcano awake? Beneath the Andean volcanoes on the borders of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia is a gigantic reservoir of molten and semi-molten magma. The AltiplanoPuna magma body, as it is known, has been in existence for millions of years without solidifying or causing a super-eruption. The mystery of how this is possible may now have been solved. Researchers from institutions including Uppsala University have analysed lava from a recent eruption and discovered that hidden flows of hot magma from deep inside the earth seem to keep the magma body alive.
Quick test for antibiotic resistance
Medicine. Rapid Antibiotic Resistance Determination is the name of a new research centre at Uppsala University, the task of which is to do exactly that. The objective of the project, which started in August, is to reduce the time from test to result to between one and four hours. The ultimate aim is to reduce morbidity and mortality from infections, while at the same time reducing the use of antibiotics and the development of resistance in the healthcare sector.
DNA from Dead Sea Scrolls
Biologi. Who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls over 2,000 years ago? Where do they originate? And what exactly do the decayed texts say? While this is not entirely clear, researchers at Uppsala University have succeeded in extracting DNA from the parchment the scrolls are written on. The results show that the skins are mainly from sheep and, in some cases, cows. This knowledge may help to piece together the various text fragments but it also suggests that the texts vary in origin, as the species of and relationships between the animals seem to suggest that they were not from the same area. The study was conducted in collaboration with researchers in Israel.
