ShareAQU Catalunya continues its artificial intelligence cycle at the Universitat de Girona
The Agency has held the second session of the cycle, dedicated to research integrity.
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Today, AQU Catalunya continued the cycle Quality and University Integrity in the Era of Artificial Intelligence with a second session held at the Universitat de Girona. The event, focused on research integrity, was attended online by more than 250 participants who took part in a programme that addressed this issue from different perspectives and that followed on from the inaugural session held in a hybrid format on 3 June at the Edifici Històric of the Universitat de Barcelona.
The session at the Universitat de Girona began with welcoming remarks by the UdG Vice-Rector for Teaching and Academic Regulation, Jaume Ametller Leal, and the director of AQU Catalunya, Mercè Gisbert Cervera. Their speeches were followed by a round table moderated by Gisbert. Entitled Artificial Intelligence and Scientific Integrity: Tensions, Limits and Responsibilities in University Research, the discussion featured Albert Sabater Coll, director of the Observatori d’Ètica en Intel·ligència Artificial de Catalunya and delegate of the rector for Responsible Artificial Intelligence at the Universitat de Girona; Begoña Román Maestre, associate professor of Ethics at the Facultat de Filosofia of the Universitat de Barcelona; and Ulises Cortés Garcia, professor of Artificial Intelligence at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and coordinator of the Interuniversity Master’s Degree in AI.
After the group work session for participants, entitled From Diagnosis to Action: Challenges and Solutions to Guarantee Integrity in the AI Era, the conclusions were presented. They were delivered by Oriol Pujol Vila, professor at the Facultat de Matemàtiques i Informàtica of the Universitat de Barcelona; Arlet Brufau Centelles, legal adviser specialising in AI at the Universitat de Girona; and Ezequiel Puig Estruch, head of the Research and Innovation Knowledge Management Service at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. The event concluded with closing remarks by the Vice-Rector for Research and Knowledge Transfer of the Universitat de Girona, Dolors Berga Colom.
A practical guide
The aim of this second session of the cycle was to discuss and enrich the actions being promoted with the different stakeholders of the Catalan university system, focusing on how to ensure quality and scientific integrity in this new era. Among the main challenges addressed were human responsibility when generative AI makes decisions, intellectual authorship, the effectiveness of mechanisms for declaring the use of AI to safeguard research integrity, the protection of privacy and confidentiality, and the risk of AI encouraging more homogeneous or easily consensual research.
The recommendations arising from the session will be compiled in a practical synthesis document, conceived as a useful and operational guide to inform the policies and actions that the Catalan university system may wish to promote in this field. The future of university quality necessarily depends on the ability to adapt, strengthen trust and preserve the values that define the university as a public good.
AQU Catalunya will continue the cycle with three additional sessions to be held across the territory. More information is available here.