by Amparo Alonso Betanzos, University of A Coruña
On February 24th, at 11:00 am in room FC6 029 of the DCC-FCUP, Amparo Alonso Betanzos will give a talk entitled "Rethinking AI: More with Less."
The talk is organized by the DCC-FCUP & LIAAD.
Short Bio
Amparo Alonso Betanzos is a Full Professor in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at CITIC-University of A Coruña (UDC), where she coordinates the LIDIA (Artificial Intelligence R&D Laboratory) group. Her research interests include the development of Scalable Machine Learning models, Reliable and Explainable Artificial Intelligence, and Green AI, among others. She has published more than 200 articles in journals and international conferences, as well as books and book chapters, and participated in more than 30 competitive European, national, and local research projects. She was previously president of the Spanish Association for Artificial Intelligence (2013-21). She is a Senior Member of the IEEE and ACM. She has participated as a member of the Working Group on Artificial Intelligence of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, which collaborated in drafting the Spanish R&D&I Strategy in Artificial Intelligence in 2018. She is currently a member of CAIA, the Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence of the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Public Function of the Government of Spain, since 2020, and a Member of the Spanish Research Ethics Committee of the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities of the Government of Spain, since 2023. She is also a Senior Member of the IEEE and ACM. Since October 2023, she has been a corresponding member of the Royal Spanish Academy of Exact, Physical, and Natural Sciences. She has received several awards, including the Helena Rubinstein-UNESCO "Women in Science" in Spain and a European finalist (1998), the Galicia ICT Award for Digital Innovation (2004), the Galicia ICT Award for Professional Career (2019), the Josefa Wonenburger Planells Award from the Xunta de Galicia (2020), and the Galicia of the Year Award, 2020, Grupo Correo Gallego.
Title: Rethinking AI: More with Less
Abstract
The success of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has so far relied on developing increasingly precise models. However, this has come at the cost of greater complexity, requiring a higher number of parameters to estimate. As a result, model transparency and explainability have diminished, while the energy demands for training and deployment have skyrocketed. It is estimated that by 2030, AI could account for more than 30% of the planet's total energy consumption. In this context, green and responsible AI has emerged as a promising alternative, characterized by lower carbon footprints, reduced model sizes, reduced computational complexity, and improved transparency. Various strategies can help achieve these goals, such as improving data quality, developing more energy-efficient execution models, and optimizing energy efficiency in model training and inference. These innovative approaches highlight the potential of green AI to challenge the prevailing paradigm of ever-growing models.