Media Advisories

UBC experts on artificial intelligence

Last week, artificial intelligence (AI) experts said mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority. This month, two AI conferences will take place, including one in Vancouver June 18-22, followed by the AI World Congress June 28-29 in London. UBC experts are available to comment on various aspects of AI.

AI models

Dr. Xiaoxiao Li
Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Email: xiaoxiao.li@ece.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Machine learning, deep learning, trustworthiness of machine learning, healthcare applications of these fields

*Available after June 23

Dr. Shweta Mahajan (she/her)
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Computer Science
Tel: 778-325-9867
Email: shweta.nith@outlook.com
Interview language(s): English

  • Computer vision, deep generative models, multimodal learning, AI story generation including creating new Flintstones story lines

*unavailable June 12-16

Dr. Karthik Pattabiraman (he/him)
Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Email: karthikp@ece.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Reliability of software including machine learning models
  • Making machine learning systems resilient to attacks

*unavailable June 21-July 7, Aug. 14-24

Dr. David Poole
Professor, Department of Computer Science
Email: poole@cs.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Author of AI textbooks with a broad perspective, high-level reasoning and decision making by AI, including environmental decision making

Dr. Mark Schmidt
Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science
Email: schmidtm@cs.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Machine learning, machine learning algorithms, large models, large datasets

Dr. Vered Shwartz (she/her)
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science
Tel: 604-816-8957
Email: vshwartz@cs.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Hebrew

  • natural language processing, language models, generative AI

*limited availability July 9-14, 23-25

Arts and AI

Dr. Patrick Pennefather
Assistant Professor, Department of Theatre and Film
Tel: 604-727-1067
Email: patrick.pennefather@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Generative AI and other AI for use in video game, film and animation
  • Major considerations in terms of ethics, customizing machine learning models, integration of generative AI in production workflows and pipelines
  • Author of upcoming book (this summer) on using generative AI to support the creative process

Education, Language and AI

Dr. Muhammad Abdul-Mageed
Associate Professor, School of Information, Departments of Linguistics and Computer Science, and Canada Research Chair in natural language processing and machine learning
Tel: 778-829-7195
Email: muhammad.mageed@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): Arabic, English

  • Generative AI, natural language processing, AI for education, AI for Arabic and African languages, diversity and inclusion in AI, misinformation and AI

Ioan (Miti) Isbasescu
Instructor and Head of Software Systems, Engineering-Physics Project Lab
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Tel: 778-668-4174
Email: miti@phas.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Romanian

  • Neural networks, reinforcement learning, computer vision
  • AI as a teaching tool and the future of education
  • How technology (especially deep neural networks based technologies) impacts individuals, society and our environment

Dr. Bryce Traister
Dean, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, UBC Okanagan
Email: bgt1967@mail.ubc.ca or bobbette.armstrong-paisley@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Impact of the “new AI” on creative industry work culture, impact on the role/response of post-secondary institutions to prepare students for a radically changing world

*unavailable June 22-July 4

Ethics, Regulation and Social Impact

Dr. Liane Gabora (she/her)
Professor, UBCO Irving K Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Tel: 604-358-7821
Email: liane.gabora@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, French

  • AI, computational creativity, computational models of cultural evolution

*intermittent travel in June and July

Dr. Kevin Leyton-Brown
Professor, Department of Computer Science and Director of Centre for Artificial Intelligence Decision-making and Action
Email: kevinlb@cs.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • AI, machine learning, game theory, heuristic algorithms, economics & computation, language models, social impact

Dr. Alan Mackworth (he/him)
Professor Emeritus, Department of Computer Science
Email: mack@cs.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • AI social impact, safety, ethics, regulation, generative AI, existential threat

*available from June 9

Oludolapo Makinde
PhD candidate, Peter A. Allard School of Law
Email: omakinde@mail.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Ethics and bias in AI, AI governance and policy, AI as an anti-corruption tool, AI risk management

*available 8:30 a.m. to 4.30pm PT June 3-21, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. PT from June 22

Dr. Madeleine Ransom (she, her)
Assistant Professor, UBCO Department of Economics, Philosophy, and Political Science
Email: madeleineransom@gmail.com
Interview language(s): English, Spanish

  • Human wellbeing and AI, bias and automation, the future of work, AI sentience, human relationships with sexbots and carebots

*limited availability from June 21-July 12

Dr. Kristen Thomasen (she/her)
Assistant Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law
Email: thomasen@allard.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • AI and robotics law and policy, ChatGPT, calls for regulation, including in response to perception of existential risk/critique of focus on existential risk, AI bias, safety in AI and robot governance, privacy and surveillance, sidewalk robots, facial recognition, drones

*unavailable June 15-18

Dr. Wendy H. Wong (she/her)
Professor and Principal’s Research Chair
UBCO Department of Economics, Philosophy and Political Science
Email: w.wong@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

Health and AI

Dr. Purang Abolmaesumi
Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Email: purang@ece.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Applications of AI in healthcare

*unavailable June 17-22 and July 7 onwards

Dr. Artem Cherkasov
Professor, Department of Urologic Sciences
Senior Research Scientist, Vancouver Prostate Centre
Tel: 778-994-3471
Email: artc@mail.ubc.ca

Interview language(s): English

  • The use of AI in drug discovery, including COVID-19 therapeutics and new cancer therapies

Dr. Mads Daugaard
Associate Professor, Department of Urologic Sciences
Senior Research Scientist, Vancouver Prostate Centre
Email: mads.daugaard@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Danish

  • Use of AI pattern recognition for image analysis in life sciences.

Dr. Anita Ho
Associate Professor, Centre for Applied Ethics, School of Population and Public Health
Email: anita.ho@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Cantonese

*intermittent travel throughout June; phone and/or virtual interviews preferred

Dr. Kendall Ho
Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine and Lead Researcher, Digital Emergency Medicine
Email: Kendall.ho@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Cantonese

  • Machine learning and artificial intelligence application in emergency medicine.

*limited availability June 10-18

Dr. John-Jose Nunez
Clinical Research Fellow, UBC Mood Disorders Centre and BC Cancer
Email: John-jose.nunez@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Applications of AI, machine learning, and natural language processing in medicine, psychiatry and oncology

*limited availability on Tuesday and Wednesday

Michael Skinnider
MD/PhD Student, Faculty of Medicine and Michael Smith Laboratories
Email: michaelskinnider@gmail.com
Interview language(s): English

  • Artificial intelligence and machine learning applications in chemistry including molecule design and drug discovery.
  • Metabolomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, single-cell genomics, spatial genomics

Dr. Sriram Subramaniam
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Gobind Khorana Canada Excellence Research Chair in Precision Cancer Drug Design
Tel: 604-822-8621
Email: sriram.subramaniam@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Artificial intelligence, structural biology and drug discovery

*limited availability June 12-16

Dr. Roger Tam
Associate Professor, Department of Radiology and School of Biomedical Engineering
Email: roger.tam@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • AI for health applications, particularly for brain, lung and heart health
  • Computer vision and machine learning methods for the quantitative analysis of medical images

*unavailable morning of June 12, afternoons of June 13 and 28

Dr. Anthony Traboulsee
Professor of Neurology, Department of Medicine
MS Society of Canada Research Chair
Tel: 604-612-0666
Email: t.traboulsee@ubc.ca

Interview language(s): English

  • Artificial intelligence and machine learning applications in multiple sclerosis (MS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain research.

Industry and Manufacturing

Dr. Bhushan Gopaluni
Associate Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Email: bhushan.gopaluni@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Impact of AI and machine learning on process/mining/manufacturing/biotechnology/pharmaceutical and related industries

Dr. Rajeev Jaiman (he/him)
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Tel: 236-866-3374
Email: rjaiman@mech.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Punjabi/Hindi

Dr. Jasmin Jelovica
Assistant Professor, Departments of Mechanical Engineering, and Civil Engineering
Email: jjelovica@mech.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Croatian

CONTACT

Alex Walls
UBC Media Relations
Tel: 604-319-8128
Email: alex.walls@ubc.ca

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