Emília Duarte
Designing Robotic Partners in the Critical Relational Turn Beyond the Human
Short Bio:
Emília Duarte holds a PhD in Human Kinetics with a specialization in Ergonomics from the Technical University of Lisbon (2011), a Master’s in Ergonomics in Occupational Safety from the same institution (2006), and a degree in Industrial Design from IADE (1994). She is currently a full professor of Design at IADE – Universidade Europeia, Lisbon, Portugal, where she teaches Ergonomics in Design. Emília serves as the Scientific Coordinator of UNIDCOM/IADE – Research Unit in Design and Communication.
Previously, she led the PhD programme in Design (until 2023) and the Master’s in Interaction Design (until 2019) at IADE. Between 2014 and 2016, she was the Vice-Rector for Research and Development at IADE-U and also directed the Department of Postgraduate Studies.
Her research focuses on Interaction Design, Emotional Design, Human-Robot Interaction, Information Design, and Cognitive Ergonomics. Emília’s interests include Social Design, particularly in areas such as Design for Health and Well-Being, Design for Behavioural Change, and Ethics in Design. Throughout her career, she has participated in various research projects, supervised six doctoral theses, and more than thirty master’s theses. She has authored over 100 publications in scientific journals and conference proceedings and has co-edited one book and seven international conference proceedings. Additionally, she is passionate about landscape photography and nature hikes.
General João Vieira Borges
Challenges of using Robots and Autonomous Systems (RAS) in warfare
Abstract:
The increasing use of Robots and Autonomous Systems (RAS) in warfare has profoundly altered the tactics, the organization for combat, the doctrine of belligerent forces, and the formation and training. The War is no longer what it was on February 24, 2022, when Russia completely invaded Ukraine. And it will be very different in the coming years.
Based on the case studies of the two ongoing conflicts, especially in Ukraine, we carried out an analysis that focuses simultaneously political-strategic, military, and legal-moral aspects. This analysis shows the increasing use of robots and drones in combat, including in joint operations. From this emerges a major concern with the consequent dehumanization of War resulting from the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a war instrument. This calls for the need to quickly adapt and change International Humanitarian Law to the new political, strategic, and technological reality. In the new Era of the Great Powers, with the increasing use of Robots and RAS the probability of disrespecting the international law grows exponentially.
SHORT BIO:
Major General of the Army, President of the Portuguese Military History Commission and Coordinator of the SEDES, Security and Defense Observatory. PhD in “Social Science”, master’s degree in “Strategy” and in “Military Sciences”.
Among the various courses, the following stand out: Open Political Science Course; National Defense Course; Course “Terrorism and Security Studies” (Marshall Center, USA and Germany).
Instructor at the Military Academy, at the Practical School of Artillery and at the Cascais Anti-Aircraft Artillery Instruction Center.
Professor at Military Academy, Military University Institute and ISCTE-University Institute of Lisbon, study advisor at the National Defense Institute, delegate of Anti-Aircraft Artillery at NATO, General Staff officer, president of the Artillery Council and commander of military units for more than thirteen years, namely the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment (2006-2008) and the Military Academy (2016-2020).
Active member of the reform of Higher Military Education.
Member of the National Defense Strategic Concept Review Board, appointed by order of the Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense (2022).
Commentator in the Social Communication Organizations in a public service model. Author and co-author of 30 books and author of around 200 articles. Partner and member of the board of Revista Militar, Corresponding Member of the Maritime History Class of the Navy Academy and Honorary Academician of the Portuguese Academy of History.
Awarded several commendations and decorations, notably the Military Order of Avis (Grand Officer).
Paulo Alvito
Building Robots for Social Interaction
Pending Abstract
Short Bio:
Born in Mozambique in 1971. Received the Licenciatura (5-year degree) in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico, Tech. Univ. of Lisbon, Portugal, in 1995.
During the period from 1996 to 2004 he got involved in different R&D activities, including, the development of robotic vision applied to mobile robotic navigation at the Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy, under the European Research Network (ERNET) and the implementation of control architectures applied to mobile robots at the Intelligent Systems Lab of the Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR/IST), Lisbon, Portugal. He Lectured control, robotics, and industrial instrumentation at the School of Technology from the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, from 1997 to 2007. He is currently the CEO/CTO of the robotics company IDMind, based in Lisbon, Portugal, of which he was one of the founders in 2000. He has been managing IDMind’s participation in different FP6, FP7 and H2020 research projects.
Mr. Alvito is a member of the Ordem dos Engenheiros, the regulatory and licensing body for the engineering profession in Portugal, and he represents IDMind at the euRobotics AISBL and the Portuguese Robotics Society.