Plenary 1
13:30-14:30, Monday, August 21, 2023
The fascinating world of transitivity
As a mathematician, I am fascinated with basic mathematical properties of functions and relations that may have a measurable impact in real applications. One such property is the transitivity of relations, the protagonist of my lecture. I will take a cursory glance at this property in various contrasting settings, including but not limited to: crisp versus fuzzy relations, binary versus ternary relations, fuzzy versus reciprocal relations, crisp versus stochastic transitivity. At the same time, I will discuss the role of transitivity in similarity measurement, preference modelling and aggregation theory, and, conversely, of aggregation theory in the study of transitivity. Moreover, I will point out some connections with preference structures, posets, lattices and trellises.
Bernard De Baets
Ghent University, Belgium
Bernard De Baets is a senior full professor in applied mathematics at Ghent University, Belgium, where he is leading the research unit KERMIT. As a trained mathematician, computer scientist and knowledge engineer, he has developed a passion for multi- and interdisciplinary research. Over the past 25 years, nearly 100 PhD students have graduated under his (co-)supervision. Bernard is a prolific writer, with a bibliography comprising over 650 peer-reviewed journal papers, accumulating more than 31000 Google Scholar citations (h-index 87). Several of his works have been bestowed upon with a best paper award. Moreover, he is a much-invited speaker, having delivered over 250 lectures world-wide. Bernard also actively serves the research community, in particular as co-editor-in-chief of Fuzzy Sets and Systems.
Bernard has been an affiliated professor at the Anton de Kom Universiteit (Suriname); he is an Honorary Professor of Budapest Tech (Hungary), a Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Turku (Finland), a Profesor Invitado of the Universidad Central “Marta Abreu” de las Villas (Cuba) and a Professor Extraordinarius of the University of South Africa. In 2011, he was elected Fellow of IFSA (International Fuzzy Systems Association) and, in 2012, he was a nominee for the Ghent University Prometheus Award for Research. In 2019, he received the EUSFLAT Scientific Excellence Award and in 2021 he was declared Honorary Member of the EUSFLAT Society.
Plenary 2
17:30-18:00, Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Humanism 2.0 in AI era
We are already in the gate of AI era. Recently Chat GPT has shown how AI can be smart and how it can help human being’s life. We have developed so many tools in our human history, but we have never felt about the tool we made. But now we human being feel some fears about AI because it’s development speed is much higher than we imagine.
– Will AI replace our human being’s jobs?
– Will AI dominate our human’s life in the future?
– Will AI take the initiative of future civilization in the earth?
The appear of AI is the most significant civilizational event since we human being started to use the fire in the human history. We cannot stop the development of AI and AI will be much smarter in the future. Therefore, we need to think AI as a partner in the civilization and start to discuss a next humanism, that is Humanism 2.0 in the next century.
Kwang-Hyung Lee
17th President of KAIST, Korea
President Kwang Hyung Lee is a futurologist who pioneered multidisciplinary studies and research at KAIST. He advocated that the convergence of information, biology, and nano-technologies would be critical for future industries, playing a crucial role in establishing the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering in 2001 and the Moon Soul Graduate School of Future Strategy in 2013. He then served as the inaugural head of both faculties.
President Lee has extensive administrative experience at KAIST, serving as Associate Vice President of the International Office, and Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs since early 2001. He also served as a member of the Korea Presidential Education Committee from 2020 to 2021, and is serving as a member of the Presidential Science Committee from 2023.
An ardent champion of entrepreneurship and startups, he has advised the first generations of KAIST startup entrepreneurs such as Nexon, IDIS, Neowiz, and Olaworks. President Lee, drawn to creative thinking and flipped learning, is famous for watching TV upside down. Such pioneering ideas and his unusual thinking style were modeled in the ‘eccentric professor’ role featured on the TV hit drama of ‘KAIST’ from 1999 to 2000.
An alumnus who earned his MS in industrial engineering at KAIST in 1980 after completing his undergraduate studies at Seoul National University, President Lee joined the KAIST faculty in 1985 upon receiving his PhD in computer science from INSA de Lyon in France.
A computer scientist as well as fuzzy theorist whose research area extends to AI, bioinformatics, fuzzy intelligent systems, and foresight methods, President Lee has published more than 70 papers in international journals and textbooks on system programming, fuzzy set theory and its applications, and three-dimensional creativity. He also invented a fuzzy elevator, subway operation controller, and AI transportation controller.
A fellow at the Korea Academy of Science and Technology and the National Academy of Engineering of Korea, he was decorated by the Korean government and the French government in recognition of the innovative education and research initiatives he has pursued.
