DiDi will host a keynote talk and panel discussion with The Data Science Institute at Columbia University on the future of smart transportation, scheduled for Tuesday, April 2, 2019, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Davis Auditorium. The event is free and open to the Columbia community.

 

Jeannette M. Wing, Avanessians Director of the Data Science Institute (DSI) and Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University, will offer welcoming remarks. Dr. Fengmin Gong, Vice President, Security Strategy, and Head of DiDi Labs, will give the keynote address, entitled “Artificial Intelligence for Good: Thoughts, Deeds, and Words.” Dr. Gong will also be a part of the panel discussion. 

Didi Chuxing is one of the newest Industry Affiliates at the Data Science Institute, and this event is a kick-off for future collaborations. 

 

The topic for the panel discussion will be “the smart transportation ecosystem: where it is today, where it is going, and how academic, industry and government can collaborate to optimize the future for all.” Panelists will also include five Columbia faculty members affiliated with DSI whose research is related to smart transportation. The five professors are: 

 

Sharon Di, assistant professor of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Columbia Engineering; Yash Kanoria, the Sidney Taurel Associate Professor of Business at Columbia Business School; Costis Maglaris, the David and Lyn Silfen Professor of Business at Columbia Business School; Andrew Smyth, professor of civil engineering and engineering mechanics, Columbia Engineering; Junfeng Yang, associate professor in Computer Science, Columbia Engineering. 

 

The welcome address by Wing is at 3 p.m.; the keynote talk is set for 3:10 p.m.; and the panel discussion begins at 3:30 p.m. 

  

“We all agree that leveraging the power of AI to better society, the environment, and all of our lives is a common goal,” says Gong. “However, the community as a whole is less aligned as to what “goodness” means, how that translates to our projects and how we conduct ourselves, and what kind of conversations we should be having when attempting to reach our goal. I will share some observations and ideas in the context of improving transportation.”