Prof. Dursun Delen

Director of Research—Center for Health Systems Innovation
Spears and Patterson Endowed Chairs in Analytics
Regents Professor of Management Science and Information Systems
Spears School of Business, Oklahoma State University

Resume

Title of Speech: "An Experiential Perspective to the Current State-of-the-Art in Health Analytics"

Undoubtedly, analytics (and data science/AI/machine learning) is one of the most popular information trends of recent history, both in business as well as in science, most particularly in the healthcare and medical fields. A strong testament to the potential of health analytics is the increasing emphasis given to this field by the top funding agencies in the U.S. and around the world. For instance, the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) collaboratively created a series of multi-million-dollar funding opportunities under the name of “Smart and Connected Heath.” The main reasons for this popular adoption of analytics in health care include (1) need (increasing demand coupled with decreasing resources forcing health care organizations to do more with less), (2) availability and affordability (algorithms are becoming more sophisticated while simultaneously the hardware and infrastructure continue to be better, faster and less expensive, (3) data (abundance of data in large volumes and varieties), and (4) cultural shift (the reliance on data-driven, fact-based actionable information is becoming more prevalent). This presentation will offer a broad experiential perspective on the current and future trends in health analytics through some exemplary research projects.

Prof. Haldun Akpınar

Marmara University, Türkiye

Resume

Haldun Akpınar, who obtained the title of professor at Istanbul University in 1997, developed his first professional software in 1981 and has contributed to the development of our country in this field as a faculty member, software developer, system analyst, and project manager for over 40 years in the field of information systems and technologies. He served as the head of the Department of Quantitative Methods at Istanbul University Faculty of Business Administration for 3 years and as the head of the Department of German Business Informatics at Marmara University for 12 years.

His main academic research areas are Advanced Technology Management, Artificial Intelligence, Data Mining, Decision Support Systems, Digital Transformation, and Complex Systems. In these fields, he has conducted teaching and research activities in several universities, including those in the Federal Republic of Germany, the United States, Austria, Sweden, Japan, and New Zealand. Professor Dr. Haldun Akpınar has published a total of 13 books, four in German, one in English, and two in translation, as well as various articles and research papers. He is proficient in advanced-level German, English, and Spanish.


Title of Speech: "The Quest"

6000 years ago, History begins in Sumer. However, humanoid Homo Habilis appeared on Earth 2.4 million years ago, and Homo Sapiens has been seen on Earth for 200,000 years. In these thousands of centuries, there is probably one thing that has not changed. Just like in all living beings, the need to live and pass on their genetic heritage to continue their lineage.
The Epic of Gilgamesh tells the story of King Gilgamesh's quest to find the elixir of life in order to resurrect his friend Enkidu. The need for protection to sustain human life first led to the creation of robots in the realm of imagination. Like Talos in Crete or the Golem of the Prague Rabbi.
The rapidly advancing information technology, which is gaining momentum day by day, may not have found the elixir of life yet. However, the role of information and communication technologies in increasing life expectancy, from below 30 years at birth in 18th century England to over 80 years today, cannot be denied.
For centuries, the contributions of thousands of scientists have been indispensable elements of life and death. Will 3rd generation artificial intelligence research find a solution to this quest?
In this presentation, through an epic narrative, the contributions of information and communication technologies from the past to the future to the line between life and death will be discussed.

Prof. Şadi Evren ŞEKER​

İstanbul University, Türkiye

Resume

Prof. Dr. Şadi Evren Şeker, graduated from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Yeditepe University in 2000. He completed his master's studies in the same department from 2000 to 2003. He also obtained a second master's degree at Istanbul Technical University, Institute of Social Sciences in 2004. He received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Engineering Department at Yildiz Technical University in 2010. He carried out postdoctoral studies in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas from 2012 to 2013. He became an associate professor in 2014 and was promoted to the rank of professor in 2020. He continues his professional career as a Professor in Department of Computer Engineering at Istanbul University.
Şadi Evren Şeker, who has studies on artificial intelligence, data mining, big data, and business intelligence, has worked at various universities at home and abroad throughout his academic life. In parallel with his academic career, he has also been involved in the establishment and management of various companies. And he has provided consultancy services to numerous company and government institutions.

Title of Speech: “Responsible Artificial Intelligence and Health Informatics”

Health sciences and health informatics are among the most important fields where responsible practices are employed, and standards and diligence are applied. In recent years, the development of responsible artificial intelligence, along with accountable AI technologies, has played a significant role in the field of health informatics. It can be said that artificial intelligence research will increasingly be scrutinized from a responsible perspective. Responsible AI in health informatics is the practice of designing, developing, and deploying AI systems in a way that is ethical, transparent, and accountable. It involves the application of principles, guidelines, and practices to ensure that AI systems used in healthcare are safe, fair, transparent, and aligned with ethical standards. Reduced cost, improved patient care, increased access to care, improved population health are some of the key benefits of AI implementation in health industry. Also, some standards like explainability of AI model to human is a new trend on AI standards, which is only possible by responsible AI. On the other hand, AI might have some pitfalls and responsible AI might be the only solution for these crucial points. Fair and unbiased AI models with transparent and explainable AI solutions can be created or questioned by Responsible AI.