725 research outputs found
Digitalization and Development
This book examines the diffusion of digitalization and Industry 4.0 technologies in Malaysia by focusing on the ecosystem critical for its expansion. The chapters examine the digital proliferation in major sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, e-commerce and services, as well as the intermediary organizations essential for the orderly performance of socioeconomic agents.
The book incisively reviews policy instruments critical for the effective and orderly development of the embedding organizations, and the regulatory framework needed to quicken the appropriation of socioeconomic synergies from digitalization and Industry 4.0 technologies. It highlights the importance of collaboration between government, academic and industry partners, as well as makes key recommendations on how to encourage adoption of IR4.0 technologies in the short- and long-term.
This book bridges the concepts and applications of digitalization and Industry 4.0 and will be a must-read for policy makers seeking to quicken the adoption of its technologies
“So what if ChatGPT wrote it?” Multidisciplinary perspectives on opportunities, challenges and implications of generative conversational AI for research, practice and policy
Transformative artificially intelligent tools, such as ChatGPT, designed to generate sophisticated text indistinguishable from that produced by a human, are applicable across a wide range of contexts. The technology presents opportunities as well as, often ethical and legal, challenges, and has the potential for both positive and negative impacts for organisations, society, and individuals. Offering multi-disciplinary insight into some of these, this article brings together 43 contributions from experts in fields such as computer science, marketing, information systems, education, policy, hospitality and tourism, management, publishing, and nursing. The contributors acknowledge ChatGPT’s capabilities to enhance productivity and suggest that it is likely to offer significant gains in the banking, hospitality and tourism, and information technology industries, and enhance business activities, such as management and marketing. Nevertheless, they also consider its limitations, disruptions to practices, threats to privacy and security, and consequences of biases, misuse, and misinformation. However, opinion is split on whether ChatGPT’s use should be restricted or legislated. Drawing on these contributions, the article identifies questions requiring further research across three thematic areas: knowledge, transparency, and ethics; digital transformation of organisations and societies; and teaching, learning, and scholarly research. The avenues for further research include: identifying skills, resources, and capabilities needed to handle generative AI; examining biases of generative AI attributable to training datasets and processes; exploring business and societal contexts best suited for generative AI implementation; determining optimal combinations of human and generative AI for various tasks; identifying ways to assess accuracy of text produced by generative AI; and uncovering the ethical and legal issues in using generative AI across different contexts
AI in drug discovery and its clinical relevance
The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the need for novel drug discovery process. However, the journey from conceptualizing a drug to its eventual implementation in clinical settings is a long, complex, and expensive process, with many potential points of failure. Over the past decade, a vast growth in medical information has coincided with advances in computational hardware (cloud computing, GPUs, and TPUs) and the rise of deep learning. Medical data generated from large molecular screening profiles, personal health or pathology records, and public health organizations could benefit from analysis by Artificial Intelligence (AI) approaches to speed up and prevent failures in the drug discovery pipeline. We present applications of AI at various stages of drug discovery pipelines, including the inherently computational approaches of de novo design and prediction of a drug's likely properties. Open-source databases and AI-based software tools that facilitate drug design are discussed along with their associated problems of molecule representation, data collection, complexity, labeling, and disparities among labels. How contemporary AI methods, such as graph neural networks, reinforcement learning, and generated models, along with structure-based methods, (i.e., molecular dynamics simulations and molecular docking) can contribute to drug discovery applications and analysis of drug responses is also explored. Finally, recent developments and investments in AI-based start-up companies for biotechnology, drug design and their current progress, hopes and promotions are discussed in this article.
Other InformationPublished in:HeliyonLicense: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/See article on publisher's website: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17575 </p
Archaeological palaeoenvironmental archives: challenges and potential
This Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) sponsored collaborative doctoral project represents one of
the most significant efforts to collate quantitative and qualitative data that can elucidate practices related to
archaeological palaeoenvironmental archiving in England. The research has revealed that archived
palaeoenvironmental remains are valuable resources for archaeological research and can clarify subjects that
include the adoption and importation of exotic species, plant and insect invasion, human health and diet, and
plant and animal husbandry practices. In addition to scientific research, archived palaeoenvironmental remains
can provide evidence-based narratives of human resilience and climate change and offer evidence of the
scientific process, making them ideal resources for public science engagement. These areas of potential have
been realised at an imperative time; given that waterlogged palaeoenvironmental remains at significant sites
such as Star Carr, Must Farm, and Flag Fen, archaeological deposits in towns and cities are at risk of decay due
to climate change-related factors, and unsustainable agricultural practices. Innovative approaches to collecting
and archiving palaeoenvironmental remains and maintaining existing archives will permit the creation of an
accessible and thorough national resource that can service archaeologists and researchers in the related fields
of biology and natural history. Furthermore, a concerted effort to recognise absences in archaeological
archives, matched by an effort to supply these deficiencies, can produce a resource that can contribute to an
enduring geographical and temporal record of England's biodiversity, which can be used in perpetuity in the
face of diminishing archaeological and contemporary natural resources.
To realise these opportunities, particular challenges must be overcome. The most prominent of these include
inconsistent collection policies resulting from pressures associated with shortages in storage capacity and
declining specialist knowledge in museums and repositories combined with variable curation practices. Many of
these challenges can be resolved by developing a dedicated storage facility that can focus on the ongoing
conservation and curation of palaeoenvironmental remains. Combined with an OASIS + module designed to
handle and disseminate data pertaining to palaeoenvironmental archives, remains would be findable,
accessible, and interoperable with biological archives and collections worldwide. Providing a national centre for
curating palaeoenvironmental remains and a dedicated digital repository will require significant funding.
Funding sources could be identified through collaboration with other disciplines. If sufficient funding cannot be
identified, options that would require less financial investment, such as high-level archive audits and the
production of guidance documents, will be able to assist all stakeholders with the improved curation,
management, and promotion of the archived resource
Law and technology through the lens of autopoiesis:An analytical framework for dealing with regulatory disconnection illustrated through the case of the GDPR
English: This dissertation is about the gap between law and technology – the idea that technology develops at a faster pace than law is able to adapt. New technologies (sometimes) bring the current regulatory regime under pressure, or may even lead to a mismatch whereby the regulatory regime might need to be adapted. Such mismatches between assumptions embedded in the law and the new (sociotechnical) context are referred to in literature as regulatory disconnection, and the consequences thereof affect how the regulatory regime is supposed to work. A holistic and systematic approach to identifying regulatory disconnection is currently lacking. While a few approaches can be identified for addressing regulatory disconnection, there is currently little guidance on how to select the most suitable one in a given situation. Such guidance is important because adopting one manner of re-connection when another would have been necessary, might leave things in an even worse state. The aim of this project is to make a next step in the direction of developing a general theory of law and technology, by addressing the following research question: How can the theory of autopoiesis further our understanding of the interaction between law and technology, and what would a new, autopoiesis-inspired analytical framework for dealing with regulatory disconnection contribute to this understanding?This project brings together insights from the field of law and technology, regulation theory, and legal theory, combining elements of methodologies such as critical literature review, doctrinal method and discourse analysis. It draws inspiration from the theory of autopoiesis in law and develops a ‘ready-to-use’ analytical framework for the identification and addressing regulatory disconnection. Essentially, the theory of autopoiesis proposes that the world is composed of different (self-producing) systems. These systems can only view the world through their internal mechanisms that function as a filter. Because of this, each system develops its own world-view, or its model of reality of what other systems look like. The concept of model of reality becomes central to the three-phase analytical framework, in which the user is supported by guiding questions. Because it is developed as ‘ready-to-use’, actors such as regulators, judges and Advocate Generals, academics, lawyers, or NGOs that play a role in identifying and addressing regulatory disconnection can use the framework without a thorough understanding of the theory underlying it. The framework provides tools that support the users in conducting a systematic analysis of mismatches between law and the sociotechnical landscape, hence informing decisions regarding the right manner of re-connection. To illustrate its usefulness, the developed analytical framework is applied to the illustrative case of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), more specifically on the concept of ‘controller’, and finds a regulatory disconnection within this legislative instrument. The extent of the disconnection is in such a manner that addressing it through interpretation would not be suitable, and regulatory effort should be dedicated towards re-connection.This research concludes that that the theory of autopoiesis provides a different, yet compatible perspective to the interaction between law and technology, thereby adding an additional explanatory layer to the state of the art in literature. The autopoiesis-inspired analytical framework provides a ‘ready-to-use’ integrated and systematic approach for identifying and addressing regulatory disconnection from a substantive perspective, which strengthens the current approaches of dealing with the difference in pace between law and technology. In addition, the analytical framework also has the potential to facilitate interdisciplinary research, whose implementation is currently both a desire as well as a challenge in (legal) academia. Furthermore, the tools developed could also be used in other contexts, such as drawing inspiration from one legal domain to address issues in another. The full potential of this framework should be further investigated and tested. Dutch:Dit proefschrift gaat over de kloof tussen recht en technologie - de idee dat technologie zich sneller ontwikkelt dan het recht zich kan aanpassen. Nieuwe technologieën zetten het bestaande wettelijk regime (soms) onder druk, of kunnen zelfs leiden tot een mismatch waardoor de wet moet worden aangepast. Dergelijke mismatches tussen aannames die in de wet verankerd zijn en de nieuwe (sociotechnische) context worden in de wetenschappelijke literatuur regulatory disconnection genoemd, en de gevolgen daarvan hebben invloed op de manier waarop het wettelijke regime verondersteld wordt te werken. Op dit moment ontbreekt een holistische en systematische aanpak voor het identificeren van regulatory disconnection. Hoewel er enkele wetenschappelijke benaderingen voor de aanpak van de problematiek kunnen worden geïdentificeerd, ontbreekt het momenteel aan voldoende houvast om de meest geschikte benadering in een specifieke situatie te selecteren. Een voldoende houvast is belangrijk omdat de specifieke aanpak voor het adresseren van een regulatory disconnection veelal nauw komt en de keuze voor een sub-optimale aanpak de problematiek kan verergeren. Het doel van dit onderzoek is het zetten van een volgende stap in de ontwikkeling van een algemene theorie voor recht en technologie. Dat doet het onderzoek meer concreet via het beantwoorden van de volgende onderzoeksvraag: Hoe kan de theorie van autopoëse ons begrip van de interactie tussen recht en technologie bevorderen, en welke bijdrage kan een nieuw, op autopoëse geïnspireerd analytisch kader voor de omgang met regulatory disconnection, leveren aan dit begrip?Dit project brengt inzichten samen op het gebied van recht en technologie, theorie van regulering en rechtstheorie, en combineert elementen van methodologieën zoals kritisch literatuuronderzoek, doctrinair onderzoek en discoursanalyse. Het onderzoek ontleent inspiratie uit de theorie van autopoëse in het recht en ontwikkelt een 'gebruiksklaar' analytisch kader voor de identificatie en aanpak van regulatory disconnection. In de kern is de theorie van autopoëse gebaseerd op de aanname dat de wereld is samengesteld uit verschillende (zelfproducerende) systemen. Deze systemen kunnen de wereld alleen waarnemen door hun interne mechanismen die als een filter fungeren. Hierdoor ontwikkelt elk systeem zijn eigen wereldbeeld, oftewel een model van de werkelijkheid en daarmee hoe andere systemen eruit zien. De benadering via dergelijke modellen van de werkelijkheid staat centraal in een analytisch kader dat bestaat uit drie stappen waarbij de gebruiker deze stappen doorloopt aan de hand van een aantal leidende vragen. Omdat het kader als het ware 'gebruiksklaar' is ontwikkeld, kunnen actoren wiens taak het is een mismatch tussen recht en technologie te identificeren en aan te pakken, waaronder de wetgever, rechters en advocaten-generaal, academici, advocaten of NGO's, het raamwerk gebruiken zonder een grondig begrip te moeten hebben van de theorie die eraan ten grondslag ligt. Het kader biedt met andere woorden een hulpmiddel dat gebruikers ondersteunt bij het uitvoeren van een systematische analyse van mismatches tussen aannames in het recht enerzijds en de nieuwe (sociotechnische) context anderzijds, waardoor beslissingen over de juiste manier voor het adresseren van de mismatch onderbouwd kunnen worden. Om de bruikbaarheid ervan te illustreren, wordt het ontwikkelde analytische kader toegepast op het wettelijk kader van de Algemene Verordening Gegevensbescherming (AVG), meer specifiek op het concept 'verwerkingsverantwoordelijke'. Het betreft hier bij uitstek een voorbeeld waarin de mismatch niet aangepakt kan worden middels interpretatie van bestaande bepalingen maar de inspanningen gericht moeten zijn op het vinden van een hernieuwde aansluiting tussen recht en de (sociotechnische) context.Dit onderzoek concludeert dat de theorie van autopoëse een ander, maar compatibel perspectief biedt op de interactie tussen recht en technologie, en daarmee een aanvullend verklarend mechanisme oplevert binnen het bestaande wetenschappelijke debat. Het op autopoëse geïnspireerde analytisch kader biedt een 'gebruiksklare', geïntegreerde en systematische benadering voor het identificeren en aanpakken van de mismatch tussen recht en technologie. Het doet dit uit een inhoudelijk perspectief en verrijkt daarmee de huidige benaderingen voor de omgang met verschillen in tempo van ontwikkeling tussen recht en technologie. Daarnaast heeft het ontwikkelde analytisch kader ook de potentie om interdisciplinair onderzoek te faciliteren, waarvan de implementatie momenteel zowel een wens als een uitdaging is in de (juridische) academische wereld. Bovendien kunnen de inzichten mogelijk ook hun waarde tonen buiten het terrein van recht en technologie door de toepassing ook in andere contexten uit te testen. Het volledige potentieel van dit kader zal kortom voorwerp van verder onderzoek moeten zijn
“So what if ChatGPT wrote it?” Multidisciplinary perspectives on opportunities, challenges and implications of generative conversational AI for research, practice and policy
Transformative artificially intelligent tools, such as ChatGPT, designed to generate sophisticated text indistinguishable from that produced by a human, are applicable across a wide range of contexts. The technology presents opportunities as well as, often ethical and legal, challenges, and has the potential for both positive and negative impacts for organisations, society, and individuals. Offering multi-disciplinary insight into some of these, this article brings together 43 contributions from experts in fields such as computer science, marketing, information systems, education, policy, hospitality and tourism, management, publishing, and nursing. The contributors acknowledge ChatGPT's capabilities to enhance productivity and suggest that it is likely to offer significant gains in the banking, hospitality and tourism, and information technology industries, and enhance business activities, such as management and marketing. Nevertheless, they also consider its limitations, disruptions to practices, threats to privacy and security, and consequences of biases, misuse, and misinformation. However, opinion is split on whether ChatGPT's use should be restricted or legislated. Drawing on these contributions, the article identifies questions requiring further research across three thematic areas: knowledge, transparency, and ethics; digital transformation of organisations and societies; and teaching, learning, and scholarly research. The avenues for further research include: identifying skills, resources, and capabilities needed to handle generative AI; examining biases of generative AI attributable to training datasets and processes; exploring business and societal contexts best suited for generative AI implementation; determining optimal combinations of human and generative AI for various tasks; identifying ways to assess accuracy of text produced by generative AI; and uncovering the ethical and legal issues in using generative AI across different contexts
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