Tutorials
2024 SACAIR Tutorials
Venue: University of the Free State | Engineering Sciences
On Tuesday, 3 December SACAIR2024 is presenting several tutorials.
Please scroll down for more information on the tutorial presenters and the tutorial content.


Tutorial Information
AI Narratives and Global Power Balances |
Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem | Professor | Head of the Department of Philosophy | University of Pretoria
Bio: Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem
Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem is a philosopher of science and technology, an AI ethics policy advisor, and a machine ethics researcher. Emma is a member of the UN Secretary General’s AI Advisory Body. She is the Chairperson of the UNESCO World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST). Currently, she is the Head of the Department of Philosophy, University of Pretoria, and leads the AI ethics group at the South African Centre for AI Research (CAIR). Emma led the UNESCO Ad Hoc Expert Group that prepared the draft of the 2021 UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI and contributed to development of its implementation instruments. She is a member of the Global Academic Network, Centre for AI and Digital Policy, Washington DC and has worked in projects related to AI ethics with the African Union Development Agency (AUDA)-NEPAD and the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR). She is a member of various international AI ethics advisory boards ranging from academia (e.g., the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Programme Human Sciences), the inter-governmental sector (as expert for the Global Commission on Responsible AI in the Military Domain), to the private sector (e.g., SAP SE). She is an associate editor for the Journal of Science and Engineering Ethics, and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of AI Law and Regulation and the Cambridge Forum on AI: Law and Regulation.
Tutorial Content:
This tutorial will focus on how AI narratives influence engagement with AI technology and reflection on AI governance from the point of view of society, government and industry. We will consider the role of false dichotomies such as AI ethics vs safety, regulation vs. innovation, AI ethics vs. human rights, etc. in shaping the nature and intensity of human-technology interaction in the AI domain.
Prerequisites:
No prerequisites.
Duration:
(TBC)
The Curse of Dimensionality. Antidotes, Spells, and their Manifestations in Model Performance | Armand Bester | Senior Medical Scientist for the National Health Laboratory Services | School of Pathology | Medical Faculty | University of the Free State
Bio: Armand Bester
Meet Armand Bester, a Senior Medical Scientist at the National Health Laboratory Services, where he’s constantly juggling the worlds of virology, informatics, and data science. Enthralled by the quirky nuances of interdisciplinary research, he dives into diverse fields, from studying viruses to contributing to tech-like real-time dashboards and bioinformatics pipelines. In his work on HIV drug resistance testing his bioinformatics skills led him to co-develop PhyloPi, a custom phylogenetic pipeline that plays a role in HIV sequencing quality control. This also earned him a spot on RStudio’s blog, where he contributed to a four-part series analyzing public HIV data with R, just one of the many creative endeavours that keep him engaged.
Armand’s reach extends beyond HIV. He’s involved in fascinating projects, with fascinating people; such as viral surveillance, exploring microbes in infant guts, and studying fungi in urban water. And when he’s not deep in sequencing data, he’s helping track power consumption across university campuses, reflecting his broad interest in the intersection of social and technological layers. Wherever there’s a mix of science, data, and collaboration, Armand thrives when asking forgiveness rather than permission and loves every step of the way!
Prerequisites: No prerequisites.
Duration: (TBC)
AI and Graph Theory | Gerhard Venter | Lecturer | Department Mathematics and Applied Mathematics | University of the Free State
Bio: Gerhard Venter
Gerhard Venter is a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the University of the Free State (UFS). He holds an MSc in pure mathematics and his principal research interest is graph theory. He is involved with the Grid Related Research Group at the UFS, where he applies his theoretical knowledge of networks to real-world problems.
Tutorial Content:
We shall consider artificial intelligence and neural networks from a (mathematical) graph theoretic perspective. Amongst other topics, we’ll touch on graph neural networks and discuss how the efficiency of a neural network is influenced by the structure of the underlying graph.
Prerequisites:
Participants must have some experience with basic linear algebra.
Duration: (TBC)
Cool Applications of AI in Astrophysics | Lurgasho Minnie | Astrophysics Master’s Student | University of the Free State
Bio: Lurgasho Minnie
The name is Minnie, Lurgasho Minnie. I am a final year Astrophysics Master’s student at the University of the Free State under the supervision of Prof. Petrus J. Meintjes and co-supervision of Dr. Jacques Maritz. My research involves searching for pulsed radiation from candidate white dwarf pulsars which are best known as “cosmic lighthouses”. I am also part of the University of the Free State’s Grid Related Research Group (GRRG) at the Department of Engineering.
Tutorial Content:
Since survey telescopes are gathering an overwhelming amount of data in an attempt to understand the weirdness of the Universe, it can be quite tiresome for mere mortals to sift through this large amount data. The invention of artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly alleviated that task. This tutorial will mainly consist of using machine learning algorithms (AI) to search for and possibly identify new pulsars (cosmic lighthouses) using data collected from survey telescopes.
Prerequisites:
Python and Linux
Duration:
(TBC)
(Mis)Trust in Student-educator Interactions Mediated by AI |
Susan Brokensha | Associate Professor | University of the Free State
Bio: Susan Brokensha
Susan Brokensha is an associate professor of applied linguistics in the Department of English at the University of the Free State (UFS) as well as co-convenor of digital well-being located in the Interdisciplinary Centre for Digital Futures (ICDF) at the university. Her research interests include discourse analysis, digital humanities, digital media discourse, and frame analysis. Her recent projects pivot around the issue of trust in (generative) AI as well as trust in student-educator interactions mediated by this technology.
She is an NRF-rated researcher and in recent years has researched discursive representations of emerging technologies in educational spaces and in the media. With Prof. Eduan Kotzé and Dr Burgert A. Senekal as co-authors, her most recent book, AI in and for Africa: A Humanistic Perspective, was published in 2023 by the CRC Press, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group.
Tutorial Content:
This tutorial explores perceptions of trust in generative AI and in student-academic interactions mediated by this technology. It specifically examines trust and mistrust in terms of (1) technological frames analysis and (2) Hoy and Tschannen-Moran’s trust model, which reflects the socio-emotional facets of benevolence, openness, and honesty, as well as the cognitive dimensions of reliability and competence.
Prerequisites:
No prerequisites.
Duration:
(TBC)