The University of Groningen science truck will introduce primary and secondary school students to artificial intelligence (AI).
This was announced during the ‘AI with common sense’ conference on Thursday in the Groninger Forum.
The truck has been touring the Netherlands and North-West Germany since 2005 to interest students in technology and science through study information, with a special focus on energy.
‘Smart minds’
AI has now been added as a special topic. The intention is not only for young people to learn more about artificial intelligence, said Professor Joost Frenken, dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering. “But also to ensure that the smart minds of tomorrow continue to work on the technology.”
The initiative for the project called ‘Your technology of tomorrow’ comes from the so-called ELSA AI lab Northern Netherlands, which is committed to responsible development and application of AI. The ‘lab’, together with the AI Hub Northern Netherlands, organized the second sold-out AI conference for entrepreneurs from the three northern provinces.
‘Last status does not exist’
Kees van der Klauw of the NL AI Coalition, the national driver of the technology, outlined how quickly artificial intelligence is developing. “I have been asked to say something about the latest status of the AI. But it doesn’t exist. It is constantly being outdated,” he said
Groningen entrepreneur and business coach Alex van Ginneken emphasized this by listing the enormous number of new applications of ChatGPT that companies can benefit from. For example, they can write marketing texts, scan contracts for legal pitfalls and check facts.
Correct dates
Mirjam Plantinga of ELSA AI also warned about mistakes made with AI. She showed a photo of a dog that had been mistaken for a tiger by an AI application. She emphasized the importance that AI is fed with correct data, for example when the technology is applied in healthcare. “It is important that patients maintain confidence in the way we deal with this.”
Cleaning the toilet
Some companies explained how they hope to apply AI. For example, according to director Jacob Tjoelker, the Groningen cleaning company Argo wants to use AI to accurately determine when and how often a toilet should be cleaned. It wants to experiment with this when cleaning an entire business complex where 300 people work. “That will be our testing ground,” says Tjoelker.