Skip to content

SS09

SS09: Responsible Artificial Intelligence – Neural Networks at the service of the Sustainable Development Goals

Silvia García Méndez

Universidad de Vigo, Spain

Abstract

the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN Agenda 2030 present global challenges that require innovative and scalable solutions. However, most current applications focus on conventional solutions without taking advantage of the disruptive potential of emerging approaches such as bioinspiration and adaptive systems. Consequently, this special session explores how Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) can be responsibly designed and applied to address issues aligned with the SDGs. The general objectives are as follows:

  1. Specific applications for the SDGs: case studies and innovative developments that contribute to the SDGs, such as agriculture optimization with artificial vision networks (SDG 2), ANN-assisted medical diagnosis (SDG 3), and emissions reduction using climate prediction models (SDG 13).
  2. Promote equity and accessibility: analyze how ANNs can be developed to be inclusive and accessible toward reducing inequalities (SDG 10). ANN proposals will be welcomed to optimize local data and infrastructure use, reducing dependence on massive architectures.
  3. Energy-efficient neural networks: optimization techniques that reduce the carbon footprint of ANNs and promote sustainable practices are expected. The proposal of ANN systems capable of learning in real-time in dynamic environments to prevent natural disasters (SDG 13) or health emergencies (SGD 3) will be considered.

Organizer

Dr. Silvia García Méndez received a PhD in Information and Communications Technology from the University of Vigo in 2021. Since 2018, she has led the Artificial Intelligence (AI) section at the Information Technologies Group – attlanTTic. Provided her leading role in the AI field, she was the invited speaker at The Aida Fernández Ríos Conference by the Galician Royal Academy of Sciences. She is also the Guest Editor of three Special Issues, has served on the scientific committee, and has organized many international conferences. Moreover, she has participated in 20 competitive research projects (7 European – one as PI, 9 national – one as PI, and 4 autonomic – one as PI), contributing more than 2.5 million €. She has also been involved in 28 academia-industry collaborations, contributing over 700,000 € as PI and technical manager. Furthermore, in her research career, she received exceptional recognitions: (i) the highly competitive national Vodafone Connecting for Good to Innovation in Telecommunications Award in 2017, (ii) the Provincial Youth Award – Research category by Deputación de Pontevedra in 2023, (iii) the best paper awards at the IEEE SNAMS 2024 and the International Conference on Sustainability, Technology, and Education in 2023, and (iv) the Amtega Award for the Best ICT Project with Social Benefits in 2024. Additionally, she collaborates with international research centers on developing advanced AI techniques in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Ireland, France, Egypt, and Palestine.