Mr. Christophe Zoghbi of ZAKA AI

Address:Beirut, Lebanon

Ms. Joyce Abi Saleh of Oreyeon

Address:Beirut, Lebanon

Mr. Paul Barakat Diab of Augmental

Address:Beirut, Lebanon

Dr. Hoda Fares of Aarhus University

Neurotechnology has opened new frontiers in neuroscience, offering unprecedented possibilities to understand the brain and develop therapeutic solutions. Within this field, Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) play a pivotal role. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) enhances BCIs by enabling precise decoding of neural signals, driving advancements in healthcare, communication, and human augmentation. This presentation explores cutting-edge research in BCI technology, showcasing AI's capacity to decode neural signals, enhance cognitive abilities, and restore lost functionalities. It also investigates AI-driven BCIs' potential to reshape human-machine interaction, addressing challenges and future directions in neurotechnology. Join us as we uncover the transformative potential of AI in shaping the next generation of neurotechnologies.

Biography:

Dr. Hoda Fares holds B.S. and M.Sc. degrees in Electrical Engineering and M.Sc. Renewable Energies from ESIB-Saint-Joseph University and EDST at Lebanese University, Lebanon. She pursued a second major in Biological Sciences due to her interest in medical studies. Completing her Ph.D. in Science and Technology for Electronics and Telecommunication, she earned the Doctor Europaeus title with a double degree from the University of Genoa, Italy, and Lebanese University in 2020. Her doctoral research, conducted partially at the Centre of Sensory-Motor Interaction, University of Aalborg, Denmark. After her Ph.D., Ms. Fares undertook a postdoctoral research fellowship at COSMIC Lab, DITEN Department, University of Genoa, Italy. Following this, she served as a Postdoc at iBrAIn Center, ICElab, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University, Denmark, from mid-2021 to mid-2023. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at the same university, leading the Neuro-Sense project on intelligent neuro-prosthetics, funded by LundbeckFonden Denmark, in partnership with Stanford University, USA. Her primary research interests include closed-loop Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) and assistive wearable systems, such as neuro-prostheses, sensory feedback, brain-inspired artificial intelligence, robotic distributed tactile sensing, functional electrical stimulation, and neurorehabilitation technologies. She is a member of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society (CAS), IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE), IEEE Women in STEM, and EBRAINS.

Email:

Address:Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, ibrAIn Center, Aarhus University, , Aarhus, Arhus Amt, Denmark

Dr. Iván López-Espejo of University of Granada

Thanks to the availability of a huge amount of speech data and ever powerful computational resources (e.g., GPUs), automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology has experienced an upswing over the last decade by building upon the deep learning and artificial intelligence (AI) paradigms. In this talk, the speaker will provide the audience with an overview of the ASR technology, from earlier speech recognizers based on hidden Markov models and Gaussian mixture models to modern ASR systems based on end-to-end deep neural networks. Furthermore, a focus will be put on voice control by means of keyword spotting (a subproblem of ASR) and other applications of ASR by bringing up ongoing work.

Biography:

Dr. Iván López-Espejo received the M.Sc. degree in Telecommunications Engineering, the M.Sc. degree in Electronics Engineering and the Ph.D. degree in Information and Communications Technology, all from the University of Granada, Granada (Spain), in 2011, 2013 and 2017, respectively. In 2018, he was the leader of the speech technology team of the biometrics company Veridas, Pamplona (Spain). During the period 2019-2022, he was a post-doctoral researcher at the section for Artificial Intelligence and Sound of the Department of Electronic Systems of Aalborg University, Aalborg (Denmark). From late 2022 to early 2024, he was an Assistant Professor at this same university and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Texas at Dallas (USA), where he was also the PI of a research project funded by a Marie Curie Global Fellowship. Currently, he is a Ramón y Cajal Fellow and a PI at the University of Granada. His research interests include speech enhancement, perceptual aspects of signal processing, music information retrieval, robust speech recognition and keyword spotting, multi-channel speech processing, and speaker verification, including anti-spoofing.

Email:

Address:Ramón y Cajal Fellow, University of Granada, , Granada, Andalucia, Spain

Dr. Lama Sleem of University of Luxembourg

In recent years, the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has transformed various aspects of our lives, including cybersecurity. While AI offers numerous benefits in enhancing threat detection, response automation, and predictive analytics, it also introduces new cybersecurity challenges and threats. This talk focuses about the research work that is being done in this field and how can this be implemented in the industry.  Collaborating directly with the esteemed insurance company Foyer and the University of Luxembourg afforded us the opportunity to explore various attack vectors utilizing cutting-edge AI technologies, while concurrently researching robust defense mechanisms to safeguard against such attacks.

Biography:

Dr. Lama Sleem is a cybersecurity expert with a PhD from the University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté. She transitioned to the University of Lorraine in 2021, focusing on cybersecurity both the educational and research fields. As part of the H2020 Concordia project, she developed innovative teaching methodologies and organized cybersecurity events for different professionals along the world. In 2023, she joined the University of Luxembourg, specializing in industrial applied research. In her present role, she focuses on analyzing vulnerabilities within Large Language Models (LLMs) and devising sophisticated cybersecurity solutions through the application of Artificial Intelligence methodologies.

Email:

Address:Department of Security and Trust, University of Luxembourg, , Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg