A Roadmap to Sustainable AI, insights with Mieke De Ketelaere

We chat with leading AI expert Geertrui Mieke De Ketelaere, who will be speaking at the World AI Cannes event on February 9 to 11 February 2023. See more about the event here.

Geertrui Mieke De Ketelaere is Adjunct Professor at Vlerick Business School and Strategic Advisor at imec (IDLab). She holds a master degree in civil and industrial engineering and specialised in robotics and artificial intelligence during her studies. Over the last 28 years, she has worked for several multinationals on all aspects of data and analytics (IBM, Microsoft, SAP, SAS, etc). From a business consulting point of view, she is specialised in defining the AI business canvas, from potential value to predefined risks.

With her understanding of the hindsight, insight and foresight of AI technologies, she also frequently acts as an expert and coach behind the scenes. In her public presentations and recent book, Mieke puts the focus on the demystification of the hype around AI. The State Secretary of Digitalisation, Mathieu Michel, appointed Mieke as “Digital Mind” in 2020. In 2022, Mieke was runner-up in the selection “ICT Personality of the Year” in Belgium. Today, Mieke continues to share her vision on the future of AI as speaker on international radio, television and conferences.

A Roadmap to Sustainable AI, insights with Mieke De Ketelaere

How can people find out more about what you are working on?

Today, I am Adjunct Professor at the Vlerick Business School in Belgium and Strategic Advisor at imec, a leading research center on digital technologies. During my career, I have specialised myself in defining the AI business canvas, from potential value to predefined sustainable and ethical risks. In her public presentations and recent books, I put the focus on the demystification of the hype around AI. You can find all my work, interviews and podcasts on my personal website: www.gmdeketelaere.com

How was the last year ?

Last years, I did receive a recognition for my “Human AI Translator” work. Although I am an engineer by education, looks like more efforts are needed to bring an honest story, behind the ongoing hype of AI. The State Secretary of Digitalisation of Belgium, Mathieu Michel, appointed me as “Digital Mind” in 2020. And computable, a leading Technology Magazine , selected me as “Runner-Up” in the category “IT Personality of the year” in 2022.

What will you be talking about at World AI Cannes event?

I will be talking about a “Roadmap to Sustainable AI: Why a quintuple innovation approach is needed within our current knowledge economy”. Today, the production of AI solutions is no longer triggered just by technocracy, a world where all innovative decisions are in the hands of the engineer. Anno 2022, AI developments are growing fast while enjoying an increased synergy between economy and society.

At the same time, all these AI solutions require exponentially more energy to train and to operate. Current collaborative efforts (triple helix, quadruple helix) fail to tackle the energy consumption issue, as one actor is currently missing at the table: Planet Earth. The Quintuple Helix innovation model supports the formation of a win-win situation for future AI developments while focussing also on an increasing responsibility for our natural environment. If we want to continue to benefit from the value of our AI systems, we must take more balanced actions now to mitigate the current negative impact.

What inspired you to attend it?

I was mainly inspired by the great list of AI thoughtleaders I had seen on last years program. So this year, I absolutely want to get myself inspired, in person, by the new line-up of fantastic keynote speakers.

What are your plans for the future?

The discrepancy between what developers create, what customers buy, and what governments want, has increased due to the hidden art of the technology and the current silod approach during development. For the future, repositioning the creation of future AI solutions within the Quintuple Helix innovation model is a must to solve the current and future issues. The Quintuple Helix model strenghtens the multi-disciplinary collaboration between the 5 main AI actors: research teams, business, governments, citizens and … Planet Earth.

This integrated approach focusses on the necessary transition needed to tackle not only current privacy concerns, ethical risks, and unclear liabilities but also the inefficient energy consumption within our AI solutions. And in the center of all this, we will need more “Human AI Translators” who can guide the discussions in a trustworthy and respectful way. This is the only way forward in order to avoid another AI winter.

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