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Responsible Design and Engineering of Human-centered AI and Data Driven Systems

Responsible Design and Engineering of Human-centered AI and Data Driven Systems AI, data and digitalisation are increasingly essential to solving big societal issues. At TU Delft, we do not only want AI and data driven systems to make human activities more efficient and sustainable, but these systems should be designed in such a way that they also make them fairer, more democratic and even lead to a greater human wellbeing. Focus on humans and engineering together When designing and engineering technological solutions to contemporary challenges, we should not lose sight of the human being. AI and data driven systems should contribute to greater safety, freedom and fairness, and therefore to greater physical and psychological wellbeing of all people. Humans are also the focus in terms of how they engage with the technology. For example, we ask ourselves: What are specific human versus technological strengths? And how can humans and technology optimally cooperate? To empower people To properly serve and engage humans, systems need to be properly designed and engineered. In the context of AI and data driven systems, this covers aspects related to algorithms, to data, and to whole systems and their interfaces. We strive for systems designed in such a way that the people using it, really understand the systems. And the systems observe, interpret and understand, at least to some degree, human behaviour. The way we work For many years already, researchers at TU Delft have been developing the scientific, technological and methodological capabilities that are needed to realise this vision of a truly human-centered approach to AI systems. We consider human-centric AI to be inherently transdisciplinary, as it brings together science and practice in computer science, design, systems engineering, human-machine interaction, psychology, ethics and philosophy, organisation, and an entire range of application-specific disciplines. News More news Events More events Delft Design for Values Institute A key component of human-centered AI is value driven design. The Delft Design for Values Institute (DDfV) carries this line of research and is led by Jeroen van den Hoven, professor of Ethics and Technology. www.delftdesignforvalues.nl/ AiTech Institute The AITech Institute is concerned with the line of research around Meaningful Human Control of Autonomous Intelligent Systems and is led by David Abbink, professor of Haptic Human-Robot Interaction. www.tudelft.nl/aitech Human-Centered AI Systems The research community around Human-Centered AI Systems, also based on the TU Delft AI Labs that deal with human-centered AI is led by Alessandro Bozon, professor Human Centered AI. This community is concerned with research and teaching about understanding, design, and engineering of AI behaviour. Lees meer over Human-Centered AI Systems Hybrid Intelligence Our TU Delft activities on Hybrid Intelligence are led by Catholijn Jonker, professor of Interactive Intelligence. The goal here is to design hybrid intelligent systems, an approach to AI that puts humans at the centre, changing the course of the ongoing AI revolution. www.hybrid-intelligence-centre.nl/ Together with government agencies and companies, the TU Delft Digital Ethics Centre bridges the gap between abstract ethical discussions on these values and concrete digital innovations. The Digital Ethics Centre is led by Jeroen van den Hoven, professor of Ethics and Technology and Catholijn Jonker, professor of Interactive Intelligence. www.tudelft.nl/digital-ethics-centre TU Delft AI Labs This TU Delft AI Labs are closely involved in research and education in the field of responsible design of human-centric AI and data-driven systems: Projects DEI4EAI DCODE TPM-AI Lab The Academic Fringe Festival Contact Stay informed and sign up for the HCAIS mailing list Community C.L.T. Boelens MA +31 15 27 81269 C.L.T.Boelens@tudelft.nl Community manager TU Delft AI Labs & Talent Programma H.P. Bijster MSc H.P.Bijster@tudelft.nl Press Officer Martijn Neef R.M.Neef@tudelft.nl Innovation manager AI Wetenschappelijke contactpunten Dr.ir. D.A. Abbink +31 15 27 82077 D.A.Abbink@tudelft.nl A. Bozzon +31 15 27 87822 A.Bozzon@tudelft.nl Prof.dr. M.J. van den Hoven +31 15 27 88547 M.J.vandenHoven@tudelft.nl Prof.dr. C.M. Jonker +31 15 27 81315 C.M.Jonker@tudelft.nl

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Students Amos Yusuf, Mick Dam & Bas Brouwer winners of Mekel Prize 2024

Master students Amos Yusuf, from the ME faculty (Mick Dam, from the EEMCS faculty and graduate Bas Brouwer have won the Mekel Prize 2024 for the best extra scientific activity at TU Delft: the development of an initiative that brings master students into the classroom teaching sciences to the younger generations. The prize was ceremonially awarded by prof Tim van den Hagen on 13 November after the Van Hasselt Lecture at the Prinsenhof, Delft. They received a statue of Professor Jan Mekel and 1.500,- to spend on their project. Insights into climate change are being openly doubted. Funding for important educational efforts and research are being withdrawn. Short clips – so called “reels” – on Youtube and TikTok threaten to simplify complex political and social problems. AI fakes befuddle what is true and what is not. The voices of science that contribute to those discussion with modesty, careful argument and scepticism, are drowned in noise. This poses a threat for universities like TU Delft, who strive to increase student numbers, who benefit from diverse student populations and aim to pass on their knowledge and scientific virtues to the next generation. It is, therefore, alarming that student enrolments to Bachelor and Master Programs at TU Delft have declined in the past year. Students in front of the class The project is aimed to make the sciences more appealing to the next generation. They have identified the problem that students tend miss out on the opportunity of entering a higher education trajectory in the Beta sciences – because they have a wrong picture of such education. In their mind, they depict it as boring and dry. In his pilot lecture at the Stanislas VMBO in Delft, Amos Yusuf has successfully challenged this image. He shared his enthusiasm for the field of robotics and presented himself as a positive role model to the pupils. And in return the excitement of the high school students is palpable in the videos and pictures from the day. The spark of science fills their eyes. Bas Brouwer Mick Dam are the founders of NUVO – the platform that facilitates the engagement of Master Students in high school education in Delft Their efforts offer TU Delft Master Students a valuable learning moment: By sharing insights from their fields with pupils at high school in an educational setting, our students can find identify their own misunderstandings of their subject, learn to speak in front of non-scientific audiences and peak into education as a work field they themselves might not have considered. An extraordinary commitment According to the Mekel jury, the project scored well on all the criteria (risk mitigation, inclusiveness, transparency and societal relevance). However, it was the extraordinary commitment of Amos who was fully immersed during his Master Project and the efforts of Brouwer and Dam that brought together teaching and research which is integral to academic culture that made the project stand out. About the Mekel Prize The Mekel Prize will be awarded to the most socially responsible research project or extra-scientific activity (e.g. founding of an NGO or organization, an initiative or realization of an event or other impactful project) by an employee or group of employees of TU Delft – projects that showcase in an outstanding fashion that they have been committed from the beginning to relevant moral and societal values and have been aware of and tried to mitigate as much as possible in innovative ways the risks involved in their research. The award recognizes such efforts and wants to encourage the responsible development of science and technology at TU Delft in the future. For furthermore information About the project: https://www.de-nuvo.nl/video-robotica-pilot/ About the Mekel Prize: https://www.tudelft.nl/en/tpm/our-faculty/departments/values-technology-and-innovation/sections/ethics-philosophy-of-technology/mekel-prize

New catheter technology promises safer and more efficient treatment of blood vessels

Each year, more than 200 million catheters are used worldwide to treat vascular diseases, including heart disease and artery stenosis. When navigating into blood vessels, friction between the catheter and the vessel wall can cause major complications. With a new innovative catheter technology, Mostafa Atalla and colleagues can change the friction from having grip to completely slippery with the flick of a switch. Their design improves the safety and efficiency of endovascular procedures. The findings have been published in IEEE. Catheter with variable friction The prototype of the new catheter features advanced friction control modules to precisely control the friction between the catheter and the vessel wall. The friction is modulated via ultrasonic vibrations, which overpressure the thin fluid layer. This innovative variable friction technology makes it possible to switch between low friction for smooth navigation through the vessel and high friction for optimal stability during the procedure. In a proof-of-concept, Atalla and his team show that the prototype significantly reduces friction, averaging 60% on rigid surfaces and 11% on soft surfaces. Experiments on animal aortic tissue confirm the promising results of this technology and its potential for medical applications. Fully assembled catheters The researchers tested the prototype during friction experiments on different tissue types. They are also investigating how the technology can be applied to other procedures, such as bowel interventions. More information Publicatie DOI : 10.1109/TMRB.2024.3464672 Toward Variable-Friction Catheters Using Ultrasonic Lubrication | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore Mostafa Atalla: m.a.a.atalla@tudelft.nl Aimee Sakes: a.sakes@tudelft.nl Michaël Wiertlewski: m.wiertlewski@tudelft.nl Would you like to know more and/or attend a demonstration of the prototype please contact me: Fien Bosman, press officer Health TU Delft: f.j.bosman@tudelft.nl/ 0624953733

A key solution to grid congestion

On behalf of the TU Delft PowerWeb Institute, researchers Kenneth Brunninx and Simon Tindemans are handing over a Position Paper to the Dutch Parliament on 14 November 2024, with a possible solution to the major grid capacity problems that are increasingly cropping up in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is unlikely to meet the 2030 climate targets, and one of the reasons for this is that large industry cannot switch to electricity fast enough, partly because of increasingly frequent problems around grid capacity and grid congestion. In all likelihood, those problems will actually increase this decade before they can decrease, the researchers argue. The solution offered by the TU Delft PowerWeb Institute researchers is the ‘flexible backstop’. With a flexible backstop, the current capacity of the power grid can be used more efficiently without sacrificing safety or reliability. A flexible backstop is a safety mechanism that automatically and quickly reduces the amount of electricity that an electric unit can draw from the grid (an electric charging station or a heat pump) or deliver (a PV installation). It is a small device connected or built into an electrical unit, such as a charging station or heat pump, that ‘communicates’ with the distribution network operator. In case of extreme stress on the network, the network operator sends a signal to the device to limit the amount of power. Germany recently introduced a similar system with electric charging stations. The backstop would be activated only in periods of acute congestion problems and could help prevent the last resort measure, which is cutting off electricity to users. ‘Upgrading the electricity network remains essential, but in practice it will take years. So there is a need for short-term solutions that can be integrated into long-term planning. We, the members of the TU Delft PowerWeb Institute, call on the government, network operators and regulator to explore the flexible backstop as an additional grid security measure,’ they said. The entire Paper can be read here . Kenneth Brunninx Associate Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Governance and Management, where he uses quantitative models to evaluate energy policy and market design with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions. Simon Tindemans is Associate Professor in the Intelligent Electrical Power Grids group at Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science. His research interests include uncertainty and risk management for power grids. TU Delft PowerWeb Institute is a community of researchers who are investigating how to make renewable energy systems reliable, future proof and accessible to everyone.

25 year celebration of formal collaboration between Delft University of Technology and the University of Campinas

On 25 October 2024 we celebrated 25 years of formal collaboration between Delft University of Technology and the University of Campinas. What began as a project to exchange some students in chemical engineering has now grown to a multifaceted and broad academic collaboration which accumulated into 24 joint research projects (>20 M Euro); 16 advanced courses and 15 Doctors with a Dual Degree PhD. Patricia Osseweijer, TU Delft Ambassador Brazil explained, “We are proud to show and reflect on this special day the added value we created resulting from our joint activities. The lessons we learned demonstrate that especially continuity of funds and availability for exchanges has contributed to joint motivation and building trust which created strong relations. This is the foundation for academic creativity and high-level achievements.” The program presented showcases of Dual Degree projects; research activities and education. It discussed the future objectives and new fields of attention and agree on the next steps to maintain and strengthen the foundation of strong relations. Telma Franco, Professor UNICAMP shared that “joint education and research has substantially benefitted the students, we see that back in the jobs they landed in,” while UNICAMP’s Professor Gustavo Paim Valenca confirmed that “we are keen to extend our collaboration to more engineering disciplines to contribute jointly to global challenges” Luuk van der Wielen highlighted that “UNICAMP and TU Delft provide valuable complementary expertise as well as infrastructures to accelerate research and innovation. Especially our joint efforts in public private partnerships brings great assets” To ensure our future activities both University Boards have launched a unique joint program for international academic leadership. This unique 7-month program will accommodate 12 young professors, 6 from each university. The programme began on 4 November 2024 in Delft, The Netherlands.