Theme Coordinators

Overview coordinators

• Michele Cucuzzella - Twin Transition
• Annamária Neag - Digital Literacy & Inclusion
• Ronald Stolk - Digital Sovereignty & Data Autonomy
• Nynke Vellinga - Autonomous Systems
• Michael Wilkinson - Applied AI

Michele Cucuzzella
Theme: Twin Transition

Twin transition highlights the interplay of digital technologies and energy systems in the transition to a sustainable society. Michele Cucuzzella is aware that the use of digital technology is both an opportunity and a threat.

An example of this is artificial intelligence: on the one hand, it is a major consumer of energy, but on the other hand, AI plays a crucial role in making predictions that can optimize energy efficiency. He stresses that AI should not be used to control systems. ‘It is not sufficiently robust for that. But it doesn’t have to be 100 percent accurate for predictions. If we can optimize our energy efficiency at least partially, that’s already a win.’

In the coming years, Cucuzzella aims to collaborate with the Schools to gather information. ‘Based on this, we will develop a roadmap for the twin transition in the province of Groningen.’ Cucuzzella dreams of creating fully autonomous energy systems. This could lead to significant improvements in comfort, efficiency, sustainability, and affordability of energy. ‘It is important that this is tailor-made. Everyone has their own needs: one person may set the temperature to 19 degrees, while for others, that would be too cold. It’s crucial that people don’t lose control and can set their own boundaries.’

Annamária Neag

Theme: Digital Literacy & Inclusion

Being able to deal with ICT has become a prerequisite for citizens to participate in today’s digital society. Governments, companies and employers increasingly expect citizens to communicate online, for example when requesting rent benefit, renewing their ID, or applying for unemployment benefits.
Yet, being digitally literate is far from self-evident. In The Netherlands alone, an estimated number of 2,5 million people are lacking basic (digital) skills, such as being able to use a PC or using messaging services (Algemene Rekenkamer, 2016). Due to the ongoing digitalization of almost all areas of everyday life, from work to health care and education, these citizens are increasingly at risk of being socially excluded.

While current interventions for promoting digital literacy often focus on elderly or low-literate adults, there are many other groups, such as young people or employees, that do not necessarily have the ability to critically, mindfully and actively deal with digital media. Yet, in-depth knowledge about how individuals develop digital literacy, what barriers prevent their participation in the digital society, and what conditions promote digital inclusion is still lacking.

Researchers at the UG from various disciplines are working to address this major societal issue, often in collaboration with societal partners such as schools, libraries, child care organizations and SMEs. The new Digital Inclusion working group of the Jantina Tammes School connects all of these parties. By bringing together knowledge from different fields, we can develop more informed strategies for supporting citizens’ digital literacy, in order to foster digital inclusion more systematically.

Ronald Stolk
Theme: Digital Sovereignty

Digital sovereignty is about having control over the digital environment. This means having control, direction and freedom of choice over:

• storage, security and processing of data

• AI algorithms and underlying models

• digital identity and access to applications

Public money should be spent on things that create public value, ensuring that the benefits of scientific research and education are shared by all. Determining how the university's digital environment is organised is just like working out how university buildings are organised – it's important to work this out for yourself.

Digital sovereignty is vital to protect public values in education and research (such as autonomy, justice and humanity). It also allows for innovation, as it enables you to customise the digital environment. For example, you could develop an AI tool within the learning environment based on faculty data sources.

The university is currently dependent on big tech companies for a large part of its digital environment. The influence of these companies on education and research, plus the power they wield through the enormous amounts of user data they manage, poses an increasing risk given current geopolitical developments. This makes digital sovereignty a strategic priority for the University of Groningen.

The JTS works with the theme of digital sovereignty to develop scientific knowledge on this interdisciplinary subject and to apply it at the University of Groningen and other organisations.

Nynke Vellinga

Theme: Autonomous Systems

As autonomous systems become more important for our daily lives, the urgency to address the societal impact of these systems only increases. We have seen examples of autonomous systems impacting society already, for instance in relation to the use of autonomous systems in governmental decision-making, healthcare and mobility. In addition to all the technical challenges, many other issues arise: how to safely use autonomous systems, what is the impact on how we work, who is liable for any damage an autonomous system might cause?

The JTS community for autonomous systems and their societal impact offers a great platform for addressing these questions through collaborations among disciplines and stakeholders. Within this theme, we focus on autonomous systems in healthcare and in mobility. Autonomous systems offer potentially substantial benefits to both sectors, but also introduce new risks. The aim of the community is to, through collaboration, address these issues and thereby contribute to harnessing the benefits and limiting the risks of the use of autonomous systems in healthcare and mobility.

Michael Wilkinson

Theme: Applied AI

The remarkable progress in artificial intelligence (AI) is transcending boundaries and finding invaluable applications across diverse academic disciplines. Recognizing the transformative potential of AI, we are proud to introduce the theme, 'Applied AI', at the Jantina Tammes School. This initiative reflects our commitment to harnessing AI's power to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and to drive innovation and advancements in fields such as natural sciences, engineering, healthcare, environmental science, economics, social sciences, and more.

Our goal is to unite academics from various disciplines, students, and industry professionals under the central theme of Artificial Intelligence. Through a series of events, workshops, and seminars, we aim to inspire and facilitate collaborations among academics, encouraging them to explore the transformative potential of AI within their respective fields. Furthermore, we believe in the importance of nurturing the talents of our students, providing them with opportunities to engage with cutting-edge AI technologies and methodologies. As we embark on this journey, we also seek to strengthen our ties with industry partners, creating a mutually beneficial relationship where academic research meets real-world applications.

In conclusion, the introduction of the 'Applied AI' theme at the Jantina Tammes School underscores our unwavering commitment to fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. By uniting academia, students, and industry, we are poised to leverage the transformative potential of AI to drive innovation across a multitude of fields, further emphasizing the pivotal role of collaboration in shaping a brighter future.