The movies we’ve grown up watching have made quite the impression on our lives and how we think about AI. 

From the exciting prospect of flying cars in Back to the Future, to the grim post-apocalyptic landscape of Mad Max. What’s closer to the truth in our near future? For instance, we’ve recently seen ABBA launch a ‘hologram’ tour and Mark Zuckerberg enter the metaverse. 

What else can we expect from the coming decade and how might these technologies evolve to become seamless in our lives? 

TOPICS WE DISCUSS INCLUDE
●	How movies like ‘The Matrix’ and Spike Jonze’s ‘Her’ were incredibly prescient when considering our future interactions with machines.
●	How TV shows like ‘Black Mirror’ identify potential negative and positive aspects of AI, sounding a warning before the technology is actually made.
●	How the Adapt Centre is involved in Digitally Enhanced Engagement that’s bringing about a revolution in AI.
●	The work at the Adapt Centre aimed at improving user experiences by focusing on human centric AI.
●	How personalising proactive agents to model users appropriately could allow them to represent us in real life.
●	The need for designers to be discerning consumers of the data they gather to create AI.
 
GUEST DETAILS
Owen Conlan is a full Professor in the School of Computer Science and Statistics. He is an internationally recognised researcher and thought leader in the field of Personalised Visualisation. 

Prof Conlan has authored 180+ peer-reviewed and high impact publications and has a h-index of 27. His most significant research contributions are the multi-model, metadata driven approach to personalisation, the non-invasive approach to personalisation, and the automated construction of personalised visualisations (which underpins several industry collaborations).

Ben Cowan is Associate Professor at UCD’s School of Information and Communication Studies; and Funded Investigator within the Adapt Centre. He specialises in voice UX and Conversational User Interfaces. He has published over 70 academic research papers on topics related to voice user interfaces, communication and cognitive psychology. 

His research lies at the juncture between psychology, human-computer interaction and communication systems in investigating how design impacts aspects of user behaviour in social, collaborative and communicative technology interactions.

https://www.adaptcentre.ie/experts/owen-conlan/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/owen-conlan-49a82b13/

https://www.adaptcentre.ie/experts/benjamin-cowan/ 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-cowan-ba098515/

AdaptCentre.ie

Owen Conlan and Ben Cowan: AI and SciFi

How many times have you gone to the doctor and then on the way home from the appointment, realized there were things that you forgot to ask about?

Today, we hear about an AI-powered platform that helps patients record questions and quality-of-life issues ahead of time to support more effective consultations. Currently being trialled with cancer patients, we hear how the system integrates with electronic health records, improves patient engagement, and has the potential to cut clinician workload in half. 

Our guest is a seasoned expert in digitising patient care with over 25 years of experience in clinical and research settings. We’re delighted to welcome CEO of eAltra, Denis Roche.

THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT

●	The role of AI in enhancing patient communication
●	Human-centreed design and clinical insight in ai development
●	Technical integration with electronic health records (EHR)
●	Real-world testing and impact on clinical workflows
●	Incorporating wearable and environmental data

GUEST DETAILS

Denis Roche is the CEO and founder of eAltra, a Trinity College Dublin spinout developing conversational AI to support cancer care. With over 25 years of experience in digitising patient pathways, Denis brings deep expertise in cognitive computing and data analytics. His clinical insights, gained from working in leading healthcare settings, have driven eAltra’s mission to address global under-capacity in cancer care. Under his leadership, the company has secured Enterprise Ireland funding and won Best Emerging AI at Spark Crowdfunding’s Top 100 Awards.
https://www.eAltra.com/ 

MORE INFORMATION

You can learn more about your AI Literacy in the Classroom here: https://ai-literacy-in-the-classroom.adaptcentre.ie/
 
Adapt Radio is produced by DustPod.io for the Adapt Centre
For more information about ADAPT visit www.adaptcentre.ie


QUOTES

It's really just to combine the information source with the accessibility, making it more powerful. - Denis Roche 

What we're trying to do at eAltra is to equip the patient as best as we can. Give them the information that they need, in the way that they want it, at the time that they need it. - Denis Roche 

We're trying to create somewhere that patients can come and know that it's safe and it's private. - Denis Roche 

The hospital teams think it's going to bring the time they spend down by about 50%. - Denis Roche

It feeds into streamlining or improving the patient scheduling process. - Denis Roche

KEYWORDS
#AI #technology #cancer #healthcare #EHR #clinicaltrials #patient #data #digitalhealth

Empowering Cancer Patients with AI

Ireland's territorial waters are among Europe's largest, yet monitoring this vast maritime expanse for unauthorized vessels, environmental threats, and infrastructure protection remains an enormous challenge with current surveillance technologies.

Professor Marco Ruffini and Dr. John Kennedy from Trinity College Dublin have developed Sea-Scan, a revolutionary system that transforms existing undersea telecommunications cables into comprehensive acoustic monitoring networks. Using distributed acoustic sensing and AI, their technology can detect and classify vessels across hundreds of kilometers of ocean using just one land-based device.

THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT

●	Transforming existing fiber optic cables into underwater sensor networks
●	AI detection of "dark vessels" that disable identification beacons
●	Unique acoustic signatures for different vessel classifications
●	Marine ecosystem monitoring and shipping noise impact assessment
●	Real-time infrastructure protection from accidental damage
●	Cost-effective surveillance across Ireland's vast territorial waters


GUEST DETAILS

Professor Marco Ruffini is Associate Professor and Fellow of Trinity College Dublin and Principal Investigator of both the CONNECT Telecommunications Research Centre and the IPIC Photonics Integration Centre. He specializes in optical network architecture at the Department of Computer Science and Statistics,  focusing on converged metro/access network architecture, long-reach passive optical networks, and inter-data center connectivity. His expertise spans over two decades in optical communications and fiber sensing technologies. 

Dr. John Kennedy is Associate Professor in Vibrations, Acoustics and Dynamics at Trinity College Dublin. His current research centers on the use of advanced additive manufacturing techniques to design and fabricate novel acoustic metamaterials for environmental noise control. His research focuses on acoustics, noise control, aeroacoustics, additive manufacturing, and metamaterials, making him uniquely positioned to interpret underwater acoustic signals.

MORE INFORMATION

You can learn more about the Sea-Scan project and other cutting-edge research at Trinity College Dublin's ADAPT Centre here: www.adaptcentre.ie/

Adapt Radio is produced by DustPod.io for the ADAPT Centre

QUOTES

Having this many sensors in this environment helps us monitor activity that's happening in our waters. - John Kennedy 

Just by placing one device at one end of the fiber, I had a microphone every meter, so I can get a different sound every meter for all the 100 kilometers just with one device at one end. - Marco Ruffini 

This technology gives you a kind of unparalleled resolution of sensors underwater. It allows you to investigate questions that you know are very important for various different reasons. -  John Kennedy 

You won't believe how often fiber gets cut due to digging... you could detect the noise of the vehicle that's trying to dig, and you could contact them, maybe 10 to 15 minutes in advance. - Marco Ruffini

One of the exciting things about working in acoustics is that it sort of touches all aspects of human activity and also our daily lives." - John Kennedy


KEYWORDS

#distributedacousticsensing #marinesurveillance #fiberoptics #underwateracoustics #AImonitoring


Sea-Scan Maritime AI Technology

This week Kevin Koidl from digital content research centre Adapt talks about a new model of trustworthy social networks. In other news, Eir is back with big broadband promises, but can it deliver?

Adapt's Kevin Koidl on rethinking social networks

Abigail's research aims to improve automatic processing of Irish multiword expressions (MWEs).

Abigail Walsh: Developing Irish Language Technology

ADAPT, the world-leading SFI Research Centre for AI-Driven Digital Content Technology, brings leading academics, researchers and industry partners together to deliver excellent science, engage the public, develop novel solutions for business across all sectors and enhance Ireland’s international reputation.

Sea-Scan Maritime AI Technology

ADAPT Radio

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