Industry Experts Discuss “AI for Good”

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Local leaders in the technology, healthcare and higher education sectors came together on October 23 to share various ways in which AI can be used to improve medical science, mental health and business processes during an industry roundtable titled “AI for Good”. 

The event was sponsored by the James Silberrad Brown Center for Artificial Intelligence, which resides within SDSU’s Fowler College of Business. 

The panel consisted of Fowler alumnus and VP of corporate strategy for Oracle, Troy Tazbaz (‘06, management information systems); director of data governance and interoperability for Sharp HealthCare, Maria Liu; and Fowler professor of management information systems, Aaron Elkins. Elkins also serves as director of the James Silberrad Brown Center for Artificial Intelligence.

The discussion was moderated by Mike Todasco, visiting fellow at the James Silberrad Brown Center for Artificial Intelligence, who asked the panel about some of the ways AI could improve the human condition. 

Panelists responded by sharing how AI can be used to detect lung cancer in certain segments of the U.S. population, how robots are being used to diagnose children with mental health issues, and how AI can streamline and accelerate business operations to improve cost and efficiency. 

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At the conclusion of the roundtable discussion, the audience was invited to interact with SDSU students working within the center on various AI projects. This included a demonstration of “Asher,” the robot that was developed, engineered and built at the center. Currently, Asher is projected to be at the forefront of the study of how robots can be used as a tool to identify children with mental health conditions. 

The next step for the James Silberrad Brown Center for Artificial Intelligence is the deployment of a supercomputer that can improve the speed and efficiency of research projects being conducted throughout the university. 

Implementation of the supercomputer is expected to begin in December.