How Robotics and Artificial Intelligence are Transforming Healthcare

Online talks from Transregional Collaborative Research Centre on the explainability of artificial intelligence

Whether it is assistive systems for nursing care, doctors using artificial intelligence (AI) to help make diagnoses, or diagnostic healthcare apps for use at home, the potential for robots and AI in healthcare is tremendous. Just what is behind these systems – how they are used and what users think about them – will be presented by three project heads from the Transregional Collaborative Research Centre ‘Constructing Explainability’ (TRR 318) in online talks. In the TRR 318 from Bielefeld University and Paderborn University, an interdisciplinary team is working on the principles, mechanisms, and social practices of explanation. Their findings are meant to be incorporated into the design of artificial intelligence systems and help make AI more accessible.

Those interested can attend the online talks given by three TRR 318 researchers. On February 23rd, 2023, Professor Dr. Kirsten Thommes will present findings from research projects on assistive systems in nursing care and discuss how these could be systematically rolled out at scale. On April 26th, 2023, Professor Dr. Philipp Cimiano will share with his audience how predictions and explanations from an intelligent system can help doctors in making their diagnoses. The lecture series will conclude with a talk from Professor Dr.-Ing. Britta Wrede on June 14th, 2023, during which Wrede will introduce the cell phone app ‘Ada’ and pose the question of whether self-diagnoses informed by artificial intelligence might be possible. Those interested in attending can log on to Zoom at 5pm for these one-hour talks.

Will Robots be Given a Place in Nursing Care?

Family members, nursing care managers, politicians, and insurers are all stakeholders involved decision-making in the field of nursing care. Dr. Kirsten Thommes is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at Paderborn University and is leading two subprojects at TRR 318. The management researcher shows how different groups in nursing care view the introduction of assistive systems, and then links this to a discussion of the needs these different groups have. In her talk, Thommes proposes how assistive systems could be systematically rolled out at scale and which approaches to this could be applied to research on the acceptance of such intelligent systems in everyday life.

At a glance:
Talk: “Acceptance of Assistive Systems in Nursing Care” (in German)
Prof. Dr. Kirsten Thommes
February 23, 2023, from 5 – 6pm

Can AI Explanations Help Make Diagnoses?

Artificial intelligence can help support doctors in their work, for instance by recognizing pathology on X-ray images or helping make treatment decisions. Professor Dr. Philipp Cimiano, Deputy Spokesperson of TRR 318, will give a talk on the role explanations play in this. AI developed for such applications should not only deliver predictions and decisions, but also be able to justify these – all while interacting with doctors and patients. Cimiano heads the “Sematic Computing” work group at Bielefeld University and is supervising two subprojects at TRR 318 on the use of explainable artificial intelligence in medicine.

At a glance:
Talk: “Explainable Artificial Intelligence in Medicine” (in German)
Prof. Dr. Philipp Cimiano
April 26, 2023, from 5 – 6pm

Empowering Self-Diagnosis with AI?

The third talk in this series centers around a cell phone app called “Ada,” which uses AI to help facilitate self-diagnoses for users from the comfort of home. Professor Dr.-Ing. Britta Wrede is a project leader at TRR 318 and also heads the “Medical Assistive Systems” group at Bielefeld University. In the first part of her talk, Wrede will present the app and its functionality; in the second half, members of the audience will be invited to test out the app themselves. Together with Wrede, they will have a look at the app’s features, potential designs for the algorithm, and explore the topic of how transparent diagnoses might best be explained.

At a glance:
Interactive talk “Self-Diagnoses with the Smart Phone App ‘Ada’” (in German)
Professor Dr.-Ing. Britta Wrede
June 14, 2023, from 5 – 6pm on Zoom
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Prof. Dr. Kirsten Thommes, project leader of projects A03 and C02
Prof. Dr. Philipp Cimiano, project leader of projects B01, C05 and INF
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Britta Wrede, project leader of projects A03, A05 and Ö