TU Dublin Leads €3.5m European Project to Create Training Programmes for Human-Centric AI Systems

Published: 10 Mar, 2021

A training project led by TU Dublin aims to ensure that Artificial Intelligence (AI) products developed by European innovators are human-centric – that is, that such products collaborate with humans rather than replacing them.

The project, Collaborative Intelligence for Safety-Critical Systems (CISC), will establish a MARIE CURIE International Training Network for 14 Early Stage Researchers in the field of Collaborative AI systems.  The first educational programme of its kind, CISC will also develop a blueprint for postgraduate training in the ground-breaking field of Collaborative Intelligence Systems. The importance of the project is underlined by Horizon 2020 funding of €3.5 m to date.

Dr Maria Chiara Leva, and Professor John D. Kelleher, Principal Investigators for CISC at TU Dublin, say there is a pressing need for dedicated interdisciplinary training schemes to prepare to integrate human-centric AI into European innovation and industry.  

Dr Maria Chiara Leva explains, “In Collaborative Intelligent Systems, humans need to be able to perform some crucial roles. They must train machines to perform certain tasks, including explaining the outcomes of those tasks, especially when the results are counterintuitive or controversial. They must also sustain the responsible use of machines, for example, preventing robots from harming humans. In contrast, AI can amplify our cognitive strengths such as filter data to provide us with information about the status of, for example, a turbine in power generation and suggest possible procedures to cope with potential issues with the system.” 

Professor John D. Kelleher says, “AI systems in collaborative robotics or cobotics can embody human skills extending our physical capabilities. In these collaborations, the end-users should not be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, and there should always be human oversight. The humans need to be aware that they are interacting with an AI system as both the AI systems and its related human decisions are subject to the principle of explainability, which is key in responsible AI."

In this context, the CISC training programme will create Collaborative Intelligence Scientists with the technical and ethical skillsets required under four key pillars:

  1. CISC will use data analytics and AI to create novel human-centric automation paradigms to support decision-making or anticipate critical scenarios for AI,
  2. The training network will design and implement processes capable of monitoring interactions between automated systems and the humans destined to use them,
  3. CISC will model the dynamics of system behaviours for the manufacturing processes, IoT sensor systems, and critical infrastructures,
  4. Trainees will learn to manage the Legal and Ethical implications of AI algorithms and using physiological recording wearable sensors, which collect human performance data in them.

CISC is now recruiting for 14 Early Stage Researchers (E.S.R.) or PhD students to train as Collaborative Intelligence Scientists. Interested candidates can read more about the training network here, and the application form is available here. The deadline to apply is Monday, 29 March 2021.

Members of the CISC MARIE CURIE International Training Network include Technological University Dublin, Politecnico Di Torino, Mbraintrain, Universita Degli Studi Di Milano, Mathema Srl, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kragujevac, Irish Manufacturing Research Company Limited By Guarantee, Iveco Espana Sl, European Digital SME Alliance, Pilz Ireland Industrial Automation (Distribution, Adient Interiors DOO, Hugin Expert AS and Software Competence Center Hagenberg Gmbh.