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Competence Center for Generative AI

The Competence Center for Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) explores the potential of algorithms (like ChatGPT or Stable Diffusion) that create new content. We research and provide information, support and consulting. Our goal is to bring a better understanding of the impact of these models on society.

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create new data, some of which is difficult to distinguish from human content. The generated content includes for example text, sound and images. As a result, the technology has implications for many areas of society, including speech processing, music and medicine. As a contribution to a sustainable use and handling of generative AI in education, research and industry, the Competence Center brings together existing experiences, provides the framework for networking and facilitates new projects.

The ZHAW can draw on a longstanding expertise on generative AI. Since 2016, for example, the Center for Artificial Intelligence (CAI) has been working with generative models for language generation and the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (IUD) with machine translation tools. The Competence Center for Generative AI unites experts from many different disciplines that analyse and develop generative AI models and investigate their impact on society.

In addition to applied research, development and (further) education courses, our focus is also on services and events. Join us on this exciting journey of discovery and knowledge-sharing!

Focal Points and Topics

  • Scientifically sound experiments to assess the capabilities and limitations of ChatGPT and similar models.
  • Implementation of showcases how generative language models can be used in industry, education, and research.
  • Webinars, talks, and presentations to inform the research and industrial communities about the capabilities, limitations, and best practices for using generative language models.
  • Meetups and expert meetings with the goal of knowledge exchange and cooperation encouragement among all interested parties in the field of generative language models. 
  • point of contact for the public where our experts will answer questions about ChatGPT and similar models via phone or video call (details coming soon).
  • A series of blog articles highlighting the latest scientific findings, industrial use cases, and guidelines for using generative language models in academia.
  • Guidelines for teachers and lecturers at schools and universities on how to deal with generative language models in exercises and exams and how to benefit from them in teaching.

Events and courses

WBK Generative AI in Teaching and Continuing Education (2 ECTS, in German): The continuing education course provides a deep understanding of generative AI models through practical examples and hands-on exercises. The focus is on the impact of generative AI in teaching and continuing education, useful applications for teachers and instructors, learning objectives and assessments, as well as legal aspects and future developments. Registration

Upcoming Activities:

Past Events:

  • ZHAW: "Digifood Technology: Was bringt die Zukunft?", kostenlose Ausstellung 29.01.-03.02.24, ZHAW Campus Reidbach, Wädenswil. Informationen.
  • Webex: "Why generative AI will change collaboration forever", 30.01.24, live webinar.
  • ZHAW + SIFG "Challenging handling of media": 29.11.2023, Toni-Areal Zürich. Among others with lecture "ChatGPT: Issues, Threats, Backgrounds and Possible Applications in the Classroom". Registration and Ticket 
  • ZHAW + CLAIRE + DIZH «Digital Futures : AI and Cybersecurity » : 30.11.2023, 16:30-18:30, Zürich. Programm (coming soon) and Registration
  • ZHAW "Experience Friendship with AI Immersively - Science Fiction Prototyping for Responsible Innovation": 28.11.2023, 17:30-20:00, Technorama Winterthur. Registration
  • ETH Treffpunkt Science City "From cyber warfare to humanitarian missions": 26.11.2023, Zürich Hönggerberg. Programm
  • UZH "Friend or Foe? Artificial Intelligence as a Challenge for Society": 20.11.2023, 16:00-17:30, Oerlikon. Information
  • ETH Treffpunkt Science City "Travel around the world as an avatar": 19.11.2023, Zürich Hönggerberg. Programm
  • ETH Podium "Machine without morals?": 14.11.2023, 19:30-21:00, ETH Hauptgebäude und Live-Stream. Information
  • ETH "AI for energy & sustainable manufacturing": 09.11.2023, Registration
  • ETH Treffpunkt Science City "Welcomed helpers in everyday life": 05.11.2023, Zürich Hönggerberg. Programm
  • AI Policy Summit 2023: 03.11-04.11.2023, Zürich: Pre-Registration
  • DLH "AI in secondary school - one year after ChatGPT": 02.11.2023, 13:00-16:30, Zürich. Registration
  • UZH "Coffee Lectures: Research with artificial intelligence": 31.10.2023, 13:15-13:45, online. Information
  • ETH Treffpunkt Science City "How machines learn": 29.10.2023, Zürich Zentrum. Programm
  • PHZH "Writing with machines: On the use of AI in education": 26.10.2023, 17:30-18:30, online. Registration.
  • Swissnex: 26.10.2023, 17:00-20:00, Zürich, Cities in the Age of AI: Digital Twins or Digital Fiends?
  • ZHAW "IAM Media Lab: Experience Friendship with AI Immersively - Science Fiction Prototyping for Responsible Innovation": 26.10.2023, 17:30-19:15, Theaterstrasse Winterthur. Registration
  • UZH "Writing to the beat of algorithms? AI as an aid in text production": 19.10.2023, 18:15-19:45, Rämistrasse Zürich. Information
  • UZH "Writing to the beat of algorithms? AI as an aid in text production": 19.10.2023, 18:15-19:45, Rämistrasse Zürich. Information
  • ZHAW + ETH "Launch & AI+X Summit": 13.10.2023, Zürich Oerlikon. With numerous ZHAW experts, e.g. Mark Cieliebak: Programm und Tickets
  • "Journalism Now": 06.10.2023, Photobastei Zürich. Panel discussion "Author: AI. Is Journalism Ready for Chatbots and Co?" with expert Cerstin Mahlow: Programm
  • BMFH Konferenz: 04.10.2023, Toni-Areal Zürich. "Deutsch: Schreiben mit generativer KI in Lehre und Unterricht" with expert Cerstin Mahlow: Programm
  • FARI Conference: Local & Sustainable AI, Data, and Robotics: 11.09- 12.09.2023, Brussels, Belgium, with expert Cerstin Mahlow: Registration
  • Scientifica 2023 "What holds worlds together in the future": 02.09.2023 11:00-17:00, 03.09.2023 11:00-18:00, Rämistrasse 69, Gebäude SOC with experts Katya Mlynchyk, Pascal Sager: Programm, Rückblick
  • International Delegates Conference IDK: 14.08.2023, Winterthur. "When Artificial Intelligence presses the school desk: Insights into the functioning, potentials and dangers of AI in foreign language teaching" with expert Alice Delorme Benites: Programm
  • ZHAW and City Winterthur (internal): WinLab Brownbag Lunch for employees of the ZHAW and city. 04.07.2023, 12:00-13:30, Theaterstrasse 15c, Room SM O4.01: Information
  • Lernlabor Hochschuldidaktik für Digitale Skills (LeLa): 20.06.2023, 12:15-13:00, «Was sind die ethischen Implikationen generativer KI?» (in German): Anmeldung
  • Swiss Conference on Data Science (SDS2023): 22.06.-23.06.2023, Zurich. Various Talks, e.g. “Quantum Machine Learning – The Next Big AI Wave in the Age of Energy Transition?” with expert Kurt Stockinger: Program
  • SwissText Analytics Conference – Swiss Text 2023: 12.06-14.06.2023, Neuchâtel, with experts Alexandre de Spindler, Katsiaryna Mlynchyk, Manuela Hürlimann and Mark Cieliebak: Programme
  • EATAW Conference 2023: 05.06.-07.06.2023, Winterthur, “Writing technology, thinking, and learning”, with expert Mark Cieliebak: Schedule
  • Lernlabor Hochschuldidaktik für Digitale Skills (LeLa): 06.06.2023, 12:15-13:00, «Wie integrieren wir KI in die berufliche und akademische Schreibpraxis?» with Dr. Kurt Pernstich and Lisa Messenzehl: Recording (in German)
  • ZHAW IAM Live: 31.05.2023, 18:30-19:45, «Macht ChatGPT Journalist:innen und Kommunikationsprofis schneller, einfältiger – oder gar überflüssig?», with expert Cerstin Mahlow: Podcast (in German)
  • PHZH and SGAB: 23.05.2023, 13:30-17:00, conference «Automatisierung, KI und Learning Analytics in der Berufsbildung – Chancen und Risiken» (in German), with expert Manuela Hürlimann: Information
  • University:Future Festival 2023: 26.04-27.04.2023, “AI Edtech: Opportunity or Risk for Students with Disabilities?” with Oriane Pierrès: Recording
  • ZHAW, ETH, Lab42, Mindfire, UZH: 21.04.2023, 11:00, ETH Audimax (HGF30), “Towards Human-like AI”: Information
  • Ortsmuseum Meilen & Mindfire: 04.04.2023-23.04.2023.AI Symposium in Meilen (in German), Ortsmuseum Meilen, Kirchgasse 14, 8706 Meilen:
    • 04.04.2023, 14:30 Uhr: Die Zukunft der KI, with expert Thilo Stadelmann
    • 15.04.2023, 10:30 Uhr: KI & Ethik
    • 23.04.2023, 14:30 Uhr: KI, Politik & Gesellschaft
  • ZHAW (internal): 02.03.-04.04., webinar series: Impuls Reihe: KI in der Lehre (zhaw.ch) (in German)
    • 02.03.2023: Introduction to GenerativeAI, with expert Mark Cieliebak
    • 09.03.2023: Demos of Generative Tools: ChatGPT, Copilot, Stable Diffusion, with experts Patrick Feisthammel and Pascal Sager
    • 14.03.2023: Impact of Generative AI on Teaching and Exams, with expert Mark Cieliebak
    • 23.03.2023: Exam Design in Light of Generative AI, with expert Cerstin Mahlow
    • 04.04.2023: Hype oder Revolution: Die Zukunft der generativen KI, with expert Mark Cieliebak
  • CLAIRE: 27.03. und 29.03.2023, webinars AI and Mental Health: CLAIRE for Good | AI as a Tool for Mental Health | European AI Week 2023 - YouTube and CLAIRE AQuA: “Impact of AI on Mental Wellbeing” - YouTube
  • PHZH, ZHAW, UZH: 03.04.2023, 16:30-18:00, "Chancen und Risiken von KI/ChatGPT für die Bildung?", online Podiumsdiskussion (in German), with expert Alice Delorme Benites: ChatGPT in der Zürcher Bildung Podiumsdiskussion Online 3. April 2023 - YouTube
  • CLAIRE (public): All Questions Answered on “ChatGPT and Large Language Models”: YouTube link

Research Projects and Publications

Projects

Publications

  • Dialect transfer for Swiss German speech translation (Survey, 2023)
  • Towards a taxonomy of large language model based business model transformations (Survey, 2023)
  • Automated text generation and summarization for academic writing (Book contribution, 2023)
  • Real world music object recognition (Article in scientific journal, 2023)
  • Digital writing technologies in higher education : theory, research, and practice (Book, 2023)
  • Video object detection for privacy-preserving patient monitoring in intensive care (peer-reviewed Paper, 2023)
  • Large language models and artificial intelligence as tools for teaching and learning writing (Article in scientific journal, 2023)
  • From concept to implementation : the data-centric development process for AI in industry (peer-reviewed Paper, 2023)
  • Correction of errors in preference ratings from automated metrics for text generation (peer-reviewed Paper, 2023)
  • Large language models and artificial intelligence, the end of (language) learning as we know it—or not quite? (Survey, 2023)
  • Evaluating Pre-Trained Sentence-BERT with Class Embeddings in Active Learning for Multi-Label Text Classification (peer-reviewed Paper, 2022)
  • The challenges of algorithm-based HR decision-making for personal integrity (Book contribution, 2022)
  • In-Depth Analysis of Automated Metrics for Text Generation Systems (peer-reviewed paper, 2022)
  • Solution for Improving Back-Translation of Database Queries into Natural Language (peer-reviewed paper, 2022; technology integrated into the NL2DB demo
  • Computer vision system using medical image synthesis for data homogenization (peer-reviewed paper, 2021)
  • Survey Paper on Evaluation of Dialogue Systems (survey paper, 2021)
  • Generating Restaurant Reviews from Structured Data (peer-reviewed paper, 2018) 
  • End-to-end Trainable System for Enhancing Diversity in Natural Language Generation (system description, 2017)

Podcasts, Videos and more:

/ Jasmina Bogojeska : AI and big data: can algorithms revolutionize healthcare? (Podcast Marktplatz Gesundheitswesen 74, 2023)

Experts and Organisation

Experts

For ZHAW Employees

As a ZHAW employee, you can participate actively or passively in the Competence Center: as an «expert» you have expertise on the topic of generative AI; or as a «follower» in our MS Teams channel, if you are simply interested in the topic or have questions about it. Feel free to contact us by sending as an e-mail: generativeAI@zhaw.ch.

Organization

In the Media